This recent hint on automating print to PDF via Pages and AppleScript gave me the impetus to write an AppleScript for batch converting Word (or any other files that Pages can open) to PDF files (or any format that Pages can export to). Here's the script:
Save the script as a droplet. Drop a bunch of Word files on it, and they will be converted to PDF files on your desktop. For converting to other formats, in the line starting with set filname to, change pdf to rtf or txt.Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20081016212447820