I'd stay with the standard distribution setup and just do the updates via "up2date".
The latest RH kernel is now 2.4.18-18.8.0
I always have a problem with non-standard software versions conflicting with RH versions.
I know they spend a lot of time making theirs more "integrated" and you may always find better in newer versions, but be prepared for some pain when there is a conflict.
I am only saying this as a way of avoiding any unseen problems for yourself.
If you have a look inside an
ftp mirror site, you will find a "rawhide" directory with the later versions not included in the RH officially supported channels...