Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - seeking opinions re. lighting for sloped ceiling

We're planning to put in some recessed lights in a sloped ceiling, and would appreciate your feedback. Pardon the mess, but here are some pictures of the room:

Facing West:
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u354/the_jack_burton/lights/CIMG6622.jpg

Facing North:
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u354/the_jack_burton/lights/CIMG6625.jpg

Facing East:
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u354/the_jack_burton/lights/CIMG6623.jpg

Facing South:
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u354/the_jack_burton/lights/CIMG6626.jpg

Last pic:
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u354/the_jack_burton/lights/CIMG6627.jpg

The ceiling is 12' tall, and I'd estimate the room to be 15' wide and 20' long. Do you think of a total of 8 down lights for the sloped ceiling would provide sufficient lighting? We find the 4" lights more attractive than the 5" or 6" lights, but I'm leery that the 4" lights might not provide enough lighting. (I'm drawing this conclusion because the kitchen is not terribly well lit with ten 4" lights, but the hallway is plenty bright with only two 6" lights.)

Also, do you have recommendations on how the lights should be situated? For example, should we just do 2 parallel rows along the length of the room, or is it more contemporary to have them sort of randomly placed?

Lastly, should I purchase down lights specifically for sloped ceilings so that the light literally shines straight down, or is it actually desirable to have the light shining perpendicular with the ceiling (ie, towards the center of the room)?

Oh, one more question: How far away from the walls should the lights be? Specifically, I'd like to try to avoid creating any glare with the TV, and I also don't want shadows from the spinning ceiling fan to be annoying.

I'd appreciate any feedback/suggestions/comments you might have. Thanks for your time.

Update: Room is 16' wide and 20.5' long. (I tried to update my above post, but the edit button isn't showing up. Strangely, it shows up for this post.)

It depends on what you want the lights for. It takes far more light to work a jigsaw puzzle or do watch repair than to simply navigate around the furniture. Older eyes typically need more light than younger eyes. So there is a very wide range of lighting that might be acceptable.

I have some can lights in a family room with even higher ceilings than this. They don't get used very often, usually just when I need to find something. I recommend cans with eyeball trim so that you can direct them downward (and maybe away from the TV).

Typically, lights used for general lighting are three or four feet away from the wall.

If you want full lighting, I'd put in six 6" can lights with eyeball trim (more if you're going to use smaller cans). I'd also want some floor lamps and/or table lamps and/or wall sconces for reading. If you really want to use the ceiling lights for reading, I'd probably increase that number to eight.

You may also want to double check you have room above the vaulted ceiling for the recessed lights. Sometimes the vaulted ceilings only have a few inches between the drywall and roof.

I would you a thin piece of metal ( coat hanger or similar ) to probe the space above