Edit: Onee thing about the old books worth mentioning is that they were never really intended to be played in a cross-setting. The powerlevels are extremely fluctuating (where mages can beat up on anyone), but more than that the settings are contradicting eachother a lot. (Except Wraith and to a degree Changeling, although those aren't very compatible with any other game anyway). For instance, each of the games has this larger than life organisation that secretly rules the world (Camarilla, Technoracy, Pentex Corporation) and having three such distinct powerplayers just feels implausible. These are issues that have been fixed in the new WoD, so no matter what people may think of it, it is much more suitable for mixed parties.
wow...great description, I have researched morei into vampire: the requiem and I would also like to know more about the new WoD...would anyone happen to have a suggestion about which is the best or... "most fun" setting...and so even tho the settings dont cross paths with one another, u still use the WoD book for all of them, as well as the other WoD supplements?