| bboy, you raise some good points. To get light to lower parts of the plant there are two ways:
1) remove shade to admit more light. Some rhodies don't like too much sun, so be careful with this.
2) remove dense parts of the plant. Rhododendrons that are pruned into a hedge like the ones that greattigerdane's neighbor has provide their own shade. You don't need to cut below the leggy zone and remove all of the green part to open up the shade. You only need remove enough of the upper portion to allow light to penetrate to the lower parts. Pruning itself, will tend to stimulate new growth. This accompanied by more light will produce lush growth on healthy plants. If you look at horticulture texts on pruning, the goals of pruning woody shrubs is to:
1) remove crossing branches that could rub
2) permit air flow to prevent disease
3) admit light to promote healthy growth Pruning now, right after bloom, will not remove flower buds because they haven't formed yet. New growth that is stimulated will, in most cases, set flower buds for next year. Removing lower branches of trees will admit more light which prevents leggy growth. Too much shade induces leggy growth, meaning a few long vertical branches usually with sparse foliage except on the top. | 
