The makes panning smoother because the lens isn't fighting you. After you take the photo, the image in the viewfinder might blur, might not. Don't turn the power of the camera off while the lens is doing its VR thing. Doing so might cause the lens to talk back at you. It's not hurting the lens and to stop it, just turn the body back on.
Same thing goes for removing the lens from the body while the lens is operating.
It is also completely removable in a entirely new way. There is an arrow on the tripod collar and when this arrow is lined up on the lens barrel, the tripod collar comes off. The lens can't be attached to a body at the time, but it's a really slick system providing great performance. You can either lock it easily into either focusing mode, or leave it so you can quickly switch between focusing modes. It's really well thought out.