Gents,
802.11n uses 40MHz wide channels. The normal channel width is about 20MHz. This may overlap with existing 802.11b/g networks. You can select a different channel but make sure that you are about 3 channels away (at least). You can mix your environment but watch your frequencies. Check
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11b for the overlap of frequencies.
If you select channel 6 (2.437GHz), keeping in mind that the channel width is 20MHz (2.426GHz - 2.448GHz), you will be overlapping with channels 2,3,4,5,7,8,9 & 10.
Your best other option is to switch to 5.8GHz which has more - and wider - channels and therefore less overlap.
As for the interoperability issues, as stated before in this thread, the interpretations of the standard by each vendor may be the problem.
Don't expect to get 300mbps on a single antenna unit. 802.11n uses MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output), multiple antennae, to get up to 450mbps (150mbps per antenna x 3).