How do these compare with the Stones you grew smell-wise? (doesn't sound like you sampled any smoke-wise). It would be interesting to note for me the effect of the AC Haze x Skunk vs. the Skunk put with the Kush.
I grew 5 Stones as my last grow before moving house and it will be a while until I'm set again. These 5 females were out of 20 seeds and exhibited moderate pheno difference 'but something for everyone'. A nice Sativa and a camphor pheno among the plants. As an inveterate pollen chucker I used two Malawi males of a line I wanted to preserve to see the effect on this poly hybrid's offspring. The goal is an outcross to preserve smells and effects and add vigor and resistance to bug suseptiblity of the Malawi side.
Back to your grow: The Skunk usually adds yield and structure but becomes ubiquitous as it is in many crosses. A smoke report would be enlightening when you get the chance. Since you chose phenos that are Kush leaning it will be a study of this interaction between the Skunk and how the results please the palate. All the best.
Hey Skunkha, I did smoke a fair amount of Stones. I found that there wasn't much variation between plants. Some had a floral hint and some where very Earthy/Masterkushy. This staight MasterKush/Skunk has a better aroma than any of the Stones did. It really is sweet but with so much else going on, too. Not really much skunk smell to it, though (thank God).
I did feed the Stones too much N, looking back, and this won't have helped the smell or flava at all. I think that I could do a lot better with another go but I would never grow it over my new SSH plant, so I'll probably never know.
The AC Haze definitely lifts the high of the MK/Sk and adds some interest but it doesn't really come through too much (not once the Kush side starts to kick in, after a cure) and the Haze flavour just isn't there. So The Stones really is a MasterKush/Skunk hybrid and not a haze plant, IMO. Some plants did lean towards the sativa side, though but I found that the MK/Sk was always there, too.
I think that The Stones would be a perfect male for outcrossing to extreme sativas, to add yield and, as you say, vigour. I think I mentioned this in my Stones thread somewhere. The flavours are nice but not overwhelming, as are the highs. Your Malawi will shine through in both taste and high, I would imagine. Nice cross. I will be interested to know how that one comes out.
I always found that the psychedelic sativas didn't cross too well with out-and-out heavy indicas. The highs can be aggressive and a little unkind (usually, not always) and you were better off finding a short-flowering sativa father instead but I think that the Stones, with it's 50% haze and kind highs won't suffer from that.
Add the indica growth patterns to all that and you could have a holy-grail Malawi cross there, my friend. I was wondering where the first sativa/Stones hybrid would appear. Didn't take long... There will be more.
I'll add a smoke rep when I can but this Mk/Sk will get the full cure, so patience is key.
Take Care
GS