I bought my Mitshubishi air cond from Happy (SS2) too... Compared price from 6 shops in total and found the best deal there. Got few free gifts too. For york aircond, out of the 6 shops (all nearby) that i compared, the cheapest is at the corner shop direct behind ESH (SS2 as well), even cheaper than Legend.

Yup, Alpha fan has longer rod... However, it has no problem with my guest room which im using energy saving downlights. One more thing, as i have 2 bedrooms to be compared side by side, I actually love the ambience from the energy bulb projection more. I find its light projection is more beautiful and softer to the eyes.
Since you are using the same downlights, i agree that you shud get fans with shorter rods. Are the panasonic fans you bought with abs blades?