deleting code goes much faster than writing code.
It seems like I already have something working, about 700 bytes less flash memory usage. At least 5 bytes less RAM usage.
If I do sizeof(lcd) it gives me a number (30 for the 4 bit version I'm working on today) that includes the RAM used for instance variables. The compiler gives a size for a compiled sketch's total flash memory usage. Is there an easy way to see the amount of flash memory LiquidCrystal itself uses? I honestly didn't make note yesterday of sketch sizes for the various options, it seems excessive to reinstall yesterday's code just to measure those, but it would be interesting to see a percentage difference in static memory usage.