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If I had an 802.11n network installed and some of my users where using 802.11g cards would it slow down my network to only 54 mbps? Similar to what a 802.11b client would do to a 802.11g network.

All of the 802.11n devices that I have tested (draft2 and pre n alike) have a protection mode. When any 802.11a/b/g devices are detected by the AP it switches to a compatibility mode using the 20 MHz wide channels vs. the 40 MHz wide "Greenfield" channels. The service set then functions like an a/b/g service set and uses the lower rates. This happens even if the a/b/g devices are not connected to the n AP but are only detected in the area. :-(

At some point, there may be a way to turn backward compatibility off like selecting G-Only on an 802.11g AP. If that exist, I have not seen it yet.

Without some protection 802.11n would really cause problems for neighboring a/b/g devices.