Rod
I don't mind heights too much so being out on a ledge doesn't bother me. A lot of what I do has some amount of exposure but generally nothing too serious, it often looks worse than it is.
I generally do not use hiking sticks except for rare occasions like loose scree hills or a lot of stream crossings.
Some people use them all of the time but they can get in the way if you are scrambling a lot.
If time permits, stop by Moab, and I can show you some great stuff

Peter