Thank you so very much @purplestarz2006. That info in your numbered list were the kind of things I was worried about (and also the reason I hadn't done rotational since TS2, which as you said, just "froze" households when you weren't playing them).
My plan is to always rotate on Fridays, in the evening, so I'm not worried about University. I learned with university if you start terms on Friday night (or any other day on the weekend), you can safely rotate away from them just before the term ends at 5:59 p.m. on the following Friday.
My biggest concerns with rotation were relationship changes and career issues, and you answered that in spades, more thoroughly than any of the guides and other forum/reddit threads I had read did. So thank you very much!
I kept a spreadsheet to keep track of things in TS2 when I did rotational, so I think I might want to do the same thing again in TS4.
Thank you for your tips as well, @lunaoddity. I think what I'm going to do is keep aging off for unplayed Sims except for when I play one specific household. If I keep my playtime with each household even as well, this should get the town to age with my Sims at an even rate. Played households I will always leave set to aging of active household only. I don't like having it just off entirely. A little time-pressure to get things accomplished adds some spice.
