I never bought the frozen pancakes, but I used to buy Ego frozen waffles for the kids so I didn't have to get up and cook breakfast all the time before they went to school. I would think though that if you put them in zipper plastic bags after opening they might keep longer? A box of waffles with 4 kids doesn't last very long so I never had to worry about them drying out or getting freezer burnt. I would also guess that you might be able to make a larger batch of pancakes all at one time and then freeze them. You might have to put them on a tray on wax paper or something and freeze them separately before putting them in bags to freeze to keep them from sticking together.
If you use Bisquick to make pancakes, I would recommend adding buttermilk, vanilla, and eggs. I do that with pancake mix as well, even the ones that say they have buttermilk in them and that I only need to add water. That's everyone's choice, like you said, to our own preferences. And I am sticking with using Bisquick (when I have it around) for biscuits only!!!!
And yes, I have used it for pancakes a few times but they weren't great.