Flying into Portland next month and am planning to see Freeport, Boothbay and probably go up to Camden as well as some of the other smaller towns in the central coast region. Will be in Maine about a week and am wondering if staying for a day or two in Brunswick makes sense or should we spend our time in some other town? My wife and I like antiques, crafts, historical areas and good dining experiences including just some good local lobster shacks.

IMO, Brunswick could be skipped unless you want to see the campus and museum at Bowdoin College. However, the Maritime Museum in Bath may be of interest for a few hours, then go on to stay in Boothbay that night.

You can combine Freeport with Brunswick as they are adjacent to eachother. The Bowdoin campus is very nice.
If you do end up in Brunswick, just across the bridge in Topsham is a brewery-restaurant (Sea Dog I think?). We had an excellent meal there at the beginning of September.

Brunswick can be a good base for exploring the mid-coast area - quick, easy drive to a number of places, including Freeport, Damariscotta, Bath. It's a nice town with an attractive main street - cute local shops that you go to Maine for.
There is a large mill that has been turned into an antiques center/flea market.

Best restaurants are Cooks Lobster House and the Star Fish Grill.

It's worth checking to see what cultural events might be going on at Bowdoin. I've only been there in the summer, when Maine State Music Theatre is in residence, but there must be other events going on in the college's theatre during the rest of the year.

With a full week I think I'd at least drive the coast south of Portland one day, seeing Kennebunkport and Ogunquit...and then from Camden go north to Belfast or even up to Bar Harbor...not Brunswick.

Note however that lots of coastal shops and restaurants will close for the season mid-October. I would save Freeport & Portland til last since they're always open full steam.

Just so you know, Bowdoin's campus has got a whole lot of construction going on-right smack in the middle of the main quad. And the museum is closed. However, I would recommend taking a drive to Land's End via Orr's and Bailey Island. It's quite spectacular (oldest cribstone bridge, gorgeous views) but skip Cook's Lobster House. It's crazy over-priced and the staff seemed very tired and cranky after the high summer season. We were just there a couple of weeks ago and were very disappointed. There's another lobster shack beyond Cook's (the name I can't recall). It's on a cove, on the right as you near Land's End. I wanna say Mackeral Cove? And there's always Fat Boy, a vintage drive-in with awesome burgers and solidly good lobster rolls. It's right near NAS Brunswick and worth the stop.

Let's us know how the trip goes....and enjoy Maine!