Hey there wangus, hopefully what we do with the CT-7 may be of help. What aircraft are you studying? Our procedures have the condition levers/prop RPM at max only for takeoff, landing, goaround and abnormal situations where maximum power is required. Obviously this is all type and SOP-dependant, but our procedures are takeoff, prop RPM at max (1396) and power levers advanced to set slightly below the required torque with the CTOT system (constant torque on takeoff) adding extra fuel to maintain the constant commanded power level for the takeoff run. At 1000 ft agl we set climb power which involves switching off the CTOT system, reduce power if necessary to a safe level and then move the condition levers to MIN (1230 PRPM) - this is to avoid the type of situation that Tu.114 describes where simply pulling the condition levers to MIN from takeoff power would over-torque or over-temp the engines. After that then manually advance power levers to the required torque. From there to configuring the aircraft for landing we wont touch the condition levers in normal operations.
When I level out and determine the required power from the power chart, typically I dont need to change the power by more than a few percent from the climb setting, we're just going from power taking us up and across to power taking us across a bit faster. Another aside - as the aircraft speeds up from maybe 150 KIAS to ~220 KIAS (or whatever you get on the day) there is a ram effect as, due to airspeed, more air enters the intake, and you might need to reduce the power levers by a couple of percent to maintain the specified torque level. At 1230 PRPM you wont be at max power there. An example might be cruising at 76% torque, 1230 PRPM, 96% Ng and 800 degrees ITT, but the condition levers have been at MIN since 1000 ft AGL. Your procedures may vary of course!