Hi IsIs,
You mentioned quite a few products, which do different things, in your post title.
TE, I do use it. It's not all I use, but it's one of many tools in my kit. I don't know about getting banned using it, I never have. You could get delisted though. If you use the product's template that comes "out of the box", then yes, don't bother. But, if you simply use the TE code on your exisitng website's template, then you can create a lot of nice looking pages quickly. A lot of people use TE as a way to "power" their site on the "backend". (You still have your original site, but lots and lots of "resource" pages created with TE.) I'm sure there are those out there that think all people who use TE are going to hell. LOL! But in reality, you don't have to create spam sites just because you own TE. Like any other tool, you can use it wisely or use it foolishly.
RSS, I use RSSEqualzer (also by the same person who wrote the TE program). I don't bother using the full blown product, but rather the "RSSEZ" that comes with the program. One file, one piece of code, you're up and running with RSS feeds on every page if you want it. What's good about RSSEQ is that it does not use JavaScript to display the feeds (which is worthless for SE purposes).
Another thing you may consider if you have Cpanel and Fantastico access at your webhosting company, is to install a blog. I use WordPress. You can set your blog up to autopost RSS Feeds, news, your own text that you write (for an example, spend two hours once a month and write 30 entries.) Set it and forget it. Meanwhile, you ping a bunch of different services automatically each time your blog posts and watch the spiders come. You will get lots of entries in the blog indexes. Also, you can blog (along with your blog entries), one url of your site in each entry. This is a great way to get many pages indexed. (Many people are saying now that "blogging and pinging is dead", but I don't buy it. It works great for me. I think these may be people who B&P 20+ times a day. I personally blog one entry, per day. I don't over do it and the engines are good to me.)
So, there is lots you can do.
I hope this helps.