I have to agree with Derek 100%. Having programed MLs on an
ETC Express 3 and looking at that board like a relief from the pain and agony of doing it on an Innovator 48/96 I can assure you that it can be done.
Also I think it's slightly amusing that you want groups for color and gobos (for which there are only really 2 x 9 for 18 posible colors and 6 + 9 for 15 posibilites with the
gobo) where there are more or less infinate places for pan and tilt to go. What I would do is start out with focus groups for common locations (CC, lead guitar mic, etc...) and then if you have saved yourself a whole lot of pan and tilt action. You may need to massage things some, but really when is massage not your best option.
One last note, given that you're using 5 - 10 macs I'm gonna guess you've got some kind of budget,you might look into renting a board that handles MLs in a more natural manner (ETC Ion, any of the newer
Strand Palettes or the 300/500 series, or even something of the Martin or HES variety if it'll fit what you're doing). Who ever is paying for it might not like the extra rental cost but if you can reduce your programing time drastically and possibly produce and even better show it might be worth it to them.