Billy Corgan has actually said in previous interviews that he had to go back into the studio and rerecord the instrumental portions of each album himself. He has a lot of contempt for his former bandmates, especially James Iha, whom I'm pretty sure Corgan deleted him playing on any released album. After listening to Iha's solo album, I might actually believe Corgan. Either way, he was probably 90% of the creative output of the Pumpkins. It might have done something to sour his live performances during the touring period as well.
Unfortunately, what has separated Corgan has been his inability to continue his success from the Pumpkins era into anything contemporary.
Grohl and Vedder, I think it is safe to say, have transcended their placement as simply members of their respective bands. Watch some of Vedder's work in India on youtube, or the Grohl documentary Sound City, to see how they have evolved beyond Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters. Having someone like that as the front man for your band automatically sets you up for a certain amount of continued success.
As an aside, a couple of years ago Billy Corgan and Roger Daltry both campaigned to be judges on American Idol. Daltry wanted to look for someone who could front a band, which he says the show had never produced, and Corgan wanted to look for someone who had personal development beyond simply their voice. I would have watched that show.
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