then all our panels should get much the same sun. I wasn't really aware of the technology until recently, but it could be good if you have panels at different angles to the sun or trees that cast shadows on them.

Even when panels are located at the same angle and are not shadowed by trees, when the weather is cloudy, and when many panels are connected in series, some of them will get less light than others. Parts of the light are blocked by the moving clouds, for example, or the difference in translucidity of the clouds. Microinverters are solving this problem, and price-wise, they've become accessible.

Another way to solve the same problem is with optimizers (I've seen it widely used with Huawei inverters). These are local MPPTs that are doing the power optimisation per individual panel or formations of a few units, coupled with a DC-DC converter that brings the units to the same value of the current, so that they can be serialized at maximum individual performance. These optimisers also communicate in real time with the inverter, and often include safety mechanisms. From the technical point this is the best solution. Local optimum is achieved for each panel while maintaining a high voltage at the inverter, making it more efficient to convert from DC to 110/220V AC. The issue is that there's no standardisation for the communication between the inverter and optimisers, resulting in no compatibility between equipment from different providers.