All the time for helicopter shots. For fully cg things we have done in a pinch.
We use kronos from the foundry though - it’s the only one which doesn’t produce serious artifacts.
edit: if I was doing this on my own/freelance, it’s very likely that i’d use kronos on everything I did.
I’d say it’s not really worth forcing a huge time lapse or DOF in until you actually have a reason to do them - for the most part you can get away with doing DOF in post. For a time lapse, if you don’t have filmed background footage, don’t show the background. Do the transistion from day->night within detail shots, shorter, more controlled sequences. Again, you’re trying to show too much - more than you actually have available to show 
If a client wants a time lapse background/clouds they can pay for it as an extra expense and you can figure out where to film it from together.
A client/employer wont be impressed by your ability to simply render a sequence - they’ll be impressed at your ability to hide potential technical issues behind good direction.