I had a bad experience with satin stitching once, so I don't use that technique. It warped my entire quilt, which was a wall hanging, so now it doesn't hang straight. I prefer to either turn under the edges of my applique or use a blanket-stitch. I haven't tried raw-edge yet.
You might want to experiment with different fusibles, they will give you different results. My friend Cindi swears by Mistyfuse, it's lightweight and does not feel stiff.
I prefer to applique my shapes, then quilt around them. If they're leaves, I'll quilt stems and veins in them. You can get very creative and enhance the design of your applique with your quilting.