So I had the unfortunate experience of a water jacket breaking while on the freeway, motor got to hot and had to be towed home.
Car is going in for a teardown to see the damage and while I had it open I was looking into a few extra beyond the rebuild mainly "pinning" , balancing and side cutting.

I have a general understanding of what the process is and their general results but what will I notice as a driver?
As far as upgrading the dowels I'd imagine it will help strengthen the motor for going beyond the stock power and don't imagine ill notice any effects from a driving perspective.

But for balancing and side cutting what will I see? The pros? The cons (if any) The cost seemed reasonable and I figured now would be a good of time as any.

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated

 

Pining and all the other stuff you mentioned is for high hp goals

You forgot to mention what engine your working with, and what your goals are with the engine, that will allow us to give you much better info

 

if you have it balanced it'll be smoother, its noticeable. its especially beneficial if you're starting with a non factory set of rotors/weights, and or want to spin the engine faster.

side cutting you won't notice, and its really only needed at high power or high revs.

the dowel pin stuff isn't noticeable because it doesn't work most of the time.