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1.  Ahh - I didn't realize that the tree shot was done without a tripod.  That explains everything.

2.  The sinusoidal / wave-like shape of the first image in your most recent post is an absolute dead give-away that the axis of rotation was not exactly vertical, ie, the tripod was not perfectly level.  This is where the bubble level that I mentioned really helps.

3.  With respect to speed, if you need to do fast panos professionally, you should seriously consider a Gigapan or similar automated mount . They are not that expensive, they are fast, and one will likely pay for itself quickly.  I haven't kept up with new products in this area, but I'm pretty sure that several competitors have entered the market at lower price points than Gigapan.

4.  Another advantage to an automated mount is that by using it, you can use a longer lens and take more component images and with a larger overlap between adjacent pix.  This will help tremendously when your stitching software needs to severely transform some of the images (eg, the tops of the trees) that would otherwise lose appreciable sharpness if fewer images were available to it.

Tom M