Just a quick note on WLAN support: I have successfully removed the following with vLite and retained wireless capabilities (in fact, I am writing this from such a system):

-Network and Sharing Center
-Link-Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD)
-Network List Service
-Network Location Awareness (NLA)

All I have to do is configure the wireless connection via Control Panel --> Network Connections. For some reason it has to be configured manually, but I was having that problem with my vLite'd install before removing the above, so I suspect that it is some other component somewhere that I removed with either WAIK or vLite.

So maybe just a warning would be due, but not an assertion that they are REQUIRED?

Well, on a failed installation where Wireless did NOT work as expected, and then upon a working installation, here is what I did that worked (while removing the above components):

1) Used Server 2008 Standard (no idea if this would work on Vista... probably not)
2) Pre-installed Desktop Experience and WLAN Support via WAIK.
3) Removed a ton of packages via WAIK that vLite misses.
4) vLited the image down to the metal, removing even winsxs. Only kept a few things.
5) Booted and removed pending.xml from winsxs after first boot.

I read from some other posts that there is an issue with pending.xml causing infinite reboots, and I have experienced the same. However, I was unsure of when to remove it. If I remove it after the first install, all is well. However, if I remove it from the install.wim image before installing, Wireless Networking is broken. I'm guessing that some part of the Wireless is installed after vLite does its thing? Not sure how it all works, but just thought I'd share.

Thanks nuhi!

EDIT: When removing pending.xml after the first boot, the Windows directory is larger (1.10 GB vs. 1.04 GB) so I'm guessing that the WAIK preinstall is actually doing some/all of the wireless installation during the Windows system install.

That is why Server component removal isn't supported and it will remain like that until I give it another try and make Manager work even after vLite.
Congrats on the cutting edge method, not even linux enthusiasts can complain

Thanks for all of your hard work! Perhaps a sticky on instructions (or aviv00's guide) on how to pre-integrate Desktop Experience, WLAN, etc. so that those who keep asking about the broken Server Add Features issue could be redirected? Here's an interesting thought on Network List Service, etc:

Again, not sure what happens if you remove Network Sharing Center, etc. on Vista, but on Server, I can "Manually connect to a wireless network" (as if it wasn't broadcasting its SSID, for example). It will show it in the connections list until I reboot. After that, it is still active in the system, and will connect automatically, but it is not listed. If you had to manage it, you would need to use the netsh command.

For example:
netsh wlan show all
netsh wlan disconnect
netsh wlan connect NetworkName

etc.

Does removing Network and Sharing Center alone on Vista really break WLAN, or does it still work with the old-school Network Connections control panel applet?