I can confirm that under the same kernel, linux-generic 2.6.24.18.41, "restricted" nvidia driver has the 10 second or so screen freezing delay, and the free nv driver has no delay.
I am unable to get linux-generic 2.6.24.19.21 working with the restricted driver at the moment, so I can't report on the latest kernel under the restricted driver, but the nv driver on latest kernel works fine.
I can confirm that under the same kernel, linux-generic 2.6.24.18.41, "restricted" nvidia driver has the 10 second or so screen freezing delay, and the free nv driver has no delay.
I am unable to get linux-generic 2.6.24.19.21 working with the restricted driver at the moment, so I can't report on the latest kernel under the restricted driver, but the nv driver on latest kernel works fine.