Guild Wars, Better Now?

I played the original Prophecies game about half way through and then gave up on Guild Wars. I really liked the game, accept for two things: Henchmen and Auction Houses. Now I've only read snippets on the new Hero Henchmen in Nightfall, but I want to know more.

(1) Did they ever add auction houses into the game?

(2) Is there a good forum post or FAQ somewhere about Hero Henchmen? I would really like to know how useful they are in PvE, can you use them in the Prophecy and Factions campaign, how far do they go to really improve the solo-gamers experience in Guild Wars?

Thanks!

1. No

2. Here's a mini guide to using henchmen, and here's an updated guide on how the henchmen use skills. Heroes work like those, only difference is that you can set their skills yourself. You can use them in prophecies and factions, but you need Nightfall to gain access to them. They go far, very far. Heroes > 9/10 pugs.

-edit-

Oh, and you can of course order your heroes around individually, making it possible even for healing monks to use henchies.