Fesh Install of Leopard OEM. Will features be missing?

just use the version that comes with the MBP, cause im pretty sure ilife comes wit the applications disk, NOT the leopard install disk.
Correct me if im wrong.

The installer disks that come with the 17" Unibody do NOT force you to install iLife. Apple actually seems to have separated the "OS" and "Applications" installers.

Probably a bad idea to install the retail OS onto the 17-inch...it looks to me that Apple is including some newer extensions on these computers.

I changed from a 15-inch unibody to a 17-inch a couple days ago, and kept a backup of the drive from the 15 when doing this exchange. The OS on the 15 was fully up-to-date, but comparing extensions between it and the 17 revealed a number of newer .kext files on the 17 (both dates and version numbers).

+1 to the advice given so far - Use the discs supplied with the laptop, they have files specifically for your computer which the retail disc won't have.

Don't use the retail DVD since it may not have the correct drivers for your computer.

If you don't want the default programs, just don't install them!

I don't know if there is an option to uninstall them before they get installed but the ilife apps should have a small footprint so long as they arent started before you try to delete them. You can use appzapper or some other uninstaller to be sure. I found three files total for each program.