I do check for horrormarks on my lantern researchers. Although I don’t have more then 6 or so lantern researchers.
For me, items are for thugs/Super combatants, and boosters for mages.
One of the things that I really like about Dominions is no waiting for someone else’s turn. You just turn in your turn when you are done. And then you wait for everyone or for the timer. So, if 10 people are slow on the turn, you aren’t combining the times (like you would in Age of Wonders). Instead, its as slow as the slowest player. No compounding the issues.