No more kernel panics for me since dropping down from 4.1.2 to 4.0.14 (Lion 10.7.2).
I went to 12GB of RAM; nothing new showed up in the Diagnostic Reports since Jan.1st.
Haven't dared 4.1.8 yet as I do like having more than one VM open at a time, which seemed risky.
EDIT 1-14 -- what the heck, trying 4.1.8 over the weekend.