Sorry, I've been useing kernel.org kernels since the 2.0 days and even within a stable series I always do a full set of tests before upgrading. every single stable series has had 'paper bag' releases, and every single one has had fixes to drivers that have ended up breaking those drivers.
the only way to know if a new kernel will work on your hardware is to try it. It doesn't matter if the upgrade is from 2.4.24 to 2.4.25 or 2.6.9 to 2.6.10 or even 2.4.24 to 2.6.10
anyone who assumes that just becouse the kernel is in the stable series they can blindly upgrade their production systems is just dreaming.