I would agree with Nancy on the 2008 rig. Mark did a great job of the manual and instruction. Let me tell you as someone who always put off rigging because it was hard and scary I never accomplished much other than modeling. But with the forum project as a push I jumped into rigging and have a better understanding. I used Mark's instruction and went step by step, and well I am not afraid to admit it, it took me "several" tries and Mark being a patient man that he is has always lent a hand. I pester him less and less, and the same goes for David Simmons (Squetch rig) and Holmes Bryant (lite rig) and Nancy who sent me a model as a reference. Rigging is something that has taken me a while to get me head around. But I have more confidence that I can rig something now and I will say it was Mark's instructions that got me to this point because of it being detailed.
I am a visual person and if I see it I can usually understand it. The instructions are a visual tool that really helps me. I pull up the instructions every time I start on something.
Anyway these guys put a lot of work into those rigs and it shows. The nice deal about any one of them is there versatility. You can add or subtract what you dont want or need or add to what you might need.
As you can tell I am a big fan of theirs! So don't let the instructions steer you away
Steve