Sokay Patrick.
Here's the real problem with Shadowrun... Karma totals don't really matter. You can have a killer build as a 0 Karma Newbie throwing 20+ dice for his core tests if you've massaged your points right, and you can have a very well-rounded, but unspectacular 200 Karma veteran that throws 12ish dice on most tests if you don't focus all your karma into one place.
Plus you never know what the group mix will be. You could have a team of social adepts, 6 hackers, or 6 complete combat monsters, with no other skills to work with.
So my outlook is... Don't worry about it. Really.
I simply try to write (and have my guys write) a basic, balanced adventure. I try to make sure there are multiple ways to handle the adventure, so that any mix of characters can get from Point A to Point F successfully (They may have to occasionally think, but they can do it). And I try to write decent, balanced NPCS.
But at the end of the day, and this is in the Boiler PLate text at the beginning of every Mission... I put my trust in the GM to modify things as needed. If the group is particularly magic heavy, add some magic and counter magic. If they're combat intensive and just ripping through the bad guys, GMs are encouraged to beef up security. If players are not being challenged, espeically if they're finding the game a bit boring, it's up to the Gamemaster to add that challenge.
We try and provide some ideas to help GMs along, but at the end of the day, you cannot write for every circumstance and every group make up. So I don't try. I cover the bases, and then trust in my GMs to do their job.
And at the end of the day, if everyone's having fun... Well that's the point. And hopefully we succeed at that.
Bull