Awesome feedback, thanks all! Given a kamado would be my fifth cooker by the time I'm likely to buy, I have the luxury of not needing to buy something that will "do it all". I want an insulated cooker that excels at pizza and baking over live fire, and let's face it, it's always fun to master (aka: "play") with a cool new way to cook.
This weekend will be fun as I have a day all to myself and decided to spend it driving all over the bay area to see some floor models first hand. I suspect that after tax time I'll see how many nickels are left in the piggy bank and then either decide to spend for a "quality" model or go the other direction and grab a Char-Griller I can mod, learn and experiment on without breaking the bank. I really love the looks, style, and reputation of KJ, and would probably go that way if price were no object. Guess we'll see!