Maverick: 86'ing V2 V3 V5 & power tube tone question

Preamp tubes in my beloved Maverick: I don't use the lead channel or the reverb, never have. Hell, the lead channel doesn't even work, probably having died of neglect. Would it be OK for me to not put tubes in the V2, V3 & V5 sockets, and would it benefit my tone any, the way it's supposed to in, for example, AC30's? Also, anybody have any experience using lower-gain preamp tubes, 12AY7's and the like? Maximum brown and minimum fizz being the obvious goal here.
Regarding those brown tones, I'm curious about the interaction between the Maverick's channel volume, channel master volume and output level. If I'm looking to push the power tubes hard, would it work to keep my channel volume low, dime the channel master, and keep my ears from bleeding/stay married using the output level? Or am I confusing the output level control with a power attenuator? Frankly, I have no problem with the tones I've been getting with my trusty SG jr and using the channel volume and a couplea stompboxes to set break-up levels, but recently discovering that my guitar's volume knob is actually a continuously variable on-board overdrive control has opened up a new world I'd hitherto ignored.
Thanks for any input--if my amp weren't out on loan for a couple of weeks I'd just plug in and see!