This post is strictly for the great search index in the sky.
If you install the MS Installer Cleanup tool, perhaps on the recommendation of Adobe for CS3 installation issues as I did you will break MS office. The error you'll get is "Microsoft [Word] is not installed correctly for the current user." As far as I can tell there is no way to fix it manually. I ran the Vista System Restore tool for the very first time ever and it worked.
Also, the Photoshop problem I was having was that all CS3 apps would just start and either hang or no UI would show up. I had to download this Licensing patch from Adobe: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3750
I was able to find a ton of posts in forums and usenet that described the exact problem I mentioned, but no solutions, nobody ever goes back and says "for the record, here's what I did". So I'm doing that now.