The use of Intervals

Hi guys,

I've been concentrating on learning intervals lately and I have found
that it is helping my ears remember the sounds I want to creat
spontaneously and also that I won't lose track of where I am on the
fingerboard if I start remembering things like minor 3rds and perfect
5ths to get myself back on track.

However, i was wondering if there was more to it then that.  I know
they also help create chords, which hasn't helped me too much in
improvising.  I've been able to throw a few cool sounding chords
starting on the 3rd and 4th strings, but nothing to useful.  Also
don't get me improvising on the arpeggios because I can't help but
sound extremely generic.

Another question I had is for the use of giant intervals, which I use
to very poor effect.  I can't help but make it sound awkward and
"obvious" if you guys know what I mean, like this note is obviously
much higher then this note and it just sounds terrible.  I know John
McLaughlin and Wes Montgomery use these leaps to great effect, but I
haven't really seen examples in transcriptions to see how they use it.

Any help would be appreciated