I guess my experience is different as I ran my pcv to the exhaust wihtout using a check valve (aftermarket valve cover) and that negative pressure caused a MASSIVE amount of oil consumption (normally I have none, but in 14 hours of driving I consumed ~15 quarts of oil).
eurocars almost mentioned that he tried routing to the exhaust (he uses the an aftermarket valve cover as well) and he also experienced a huge amount of oil consumption and has since changed to a VTA can instead of exhaust.
Wow! That crazy! Sounds like this happens with the aftermarket valve cover, but I'm not sure exactly why. All the systems I've installed and ran have been without a check valve and with factory valve cover. The vacuum measurements in the post above are without a check valve. It is possible there is some restriction in the factory oil separator as PCV gases leave the crankcase. With a factory valve cover all gases pass through the separator before going out the rear port.
I can tell you that running the pcv to atmosphere does stink. I could see it coming out under the car and I could smell it. The only way you wouldn't is windows up with the a/c on recirculate. It was so bad my wife asked what was wrong with the car. There is also an internal EGR which overlaps valve timing and pukes gasses back into the intake manifold. Completely separate from weeping valve guides. This is true of TSI engines anyway.
From your description it sounds like you ran a hose to the ground or released PCV into your engine bay issuing a VTA can. I can imagine that would create either a spot on the ground or an oily film in your engine bay. Both issues are solved by routing to the exhaust.
For me to smell the slight fuel smell I described earlier, I have to stand behind the car with the exhaust coming right out at me. Other than that there is no difference from a factory car. I love driving with windows down and have never had an issue with smell coming in through the A/C or windows.
I'm sorry some people have had bad experiences, but it sounds like they can be explained and easily avoided.