Of course these are going to be 'general' guidelines because everything in photography changes.
Using a tripod is mandatory for the best results and it must be set level so the pan stays level.
A smaller rather than a larger aperture is better. Set ISO to a lower number.
The use of a fixed manual exposure will most certainly guarantee you get different results on each shot. Bad idea.
Use the camera in the vertical position not horizontal. This gives you a better aspect ratio on your finished print.
Landscapes is not the only place to use pano shots. I was not the photographer for a Broadway musical that was in our town a couple years ago. But the producer saw I was there with my camera, I go everywhere with it, he asked if I happened to get a shot of the entire cast? Well, no, I didn't as I was not there for that task. The 'hired' photographer failed to get this most basic of shots! But I said I could probably get them a shot. I stitched together a pano from five random shots and got the entire cast. Not the way I would have done it but they were pleased to get it. Better than nothing and they put it on a poster and sold them.
This was under less that ideal circumsatnces, for one thing it was hand held and I was off center. But it shows this procedure can be useful in many situations.
If you come up with any more questions, please, feel free to ask.
