fresh herbs in pots?

My experience (here in Central PA) has been that most culinary herbs aren't typically bothered by pests (Parsley is one of the exceptions).  The only one you list out of the 4 that I don't see being practical is the Dill because most varieties grow quite tall.  What I would do if you have limited space is you can either go with a standard variety (there may be more compact ones out there?) and then once it reached a decent size, depending on the pot size, start harvesting.  Harvest even if you aren't planning on using it just to keep the plant producing as long as possible.  The other route to go is just keep seeding the dill between two or three pots.  As one grows to a harvestable size, cut or pull the plants (you can keep rooted small plants quite long in water, covered in the fridge) and then reseed.  Cilantro is like this as well.  It tends to bolt very quickly under stress/heat and you need to follow the "progression planting" method if you want to keep a supply.  Some food for thought: both Dill and Cilantro will naturalize fairly easily, don't require much care and don't need great soil so if you know of a small spot by your home that you can be a "Johnny-Cilantro-Seed" toss some seed there and see what happens.  Most store bought Coriander is usually still viable, perfect for the task...although it is bred for seed.

Just came across your post on growing herbs in containers.  I do this also because most re of the yard is rock and a huge portion only receives morning sun so I have to move them around but the basils, melons, corn and few other veggies and fruits do well for me here and there are rabbits around but they do not seem to bother the plants.  Parcel (celery like) is one that I thought for sure would be ate alive by rabbits but it also does very well.  Maybe it has to do with the height of the pots and the rabbits do not like reaching upward to get them?  No squirrels bother the plants either.  One thing that maybe could be helping is I have several solar lights (the cheap ones at Wal-Mart for $2.00) placed next to the herbs and veggies.