My wife cooked gumbo last night using store bought roux and Guidry's season blend while I was working on the house. You can bet your @$$ I was not about to tell her that it wasn't a homemade gumbo.
When I cook a roux based meal I like to make my own roux if time permits. It's a whole different meal with a homemade roux.
Meaux, if I'm using boneless skinless chicken I will not brown it. If it's a fryer I'd prefer to brown it strictly for the fact of having less grease in my gumbo. I always brown my fresh sausage though....... I started using the green onion sausage from Winn Dixie. It's awesome in a gumbo.