Believe me I'm not making my decision on how many "votes" I get, I'm just trying to get actual users to tell me their experiences, positive and negative so that I can add a bit of info into my final research.
I've looked at the TECIII and ruled it out because it was too expensive and expansive for my budget. I like the SDS units, but they can start to get a bit pricey when I look at the exact unit I want to run, plus the fact that I cannot use a laptop with it, only the hand controller. MS was a possibility early on and I even came very close to ordering one, but just could not get past the fact that it really has no customer support. Sure there is the online FAQ and manual, but if something goes wrong or she doesn't start I dont want to have to poke around the board with a multi-meter trying to find out what "I" (or whoever else may have assembled it) may have done wrong.
I'm the type of person that does years of research and planning ahead before I buy anything major. tech specs and ability are very important to me, but user experience is at the top of the list as well.
thanks for the replies everyone, keep the info coming!