Steve (OP) asked a question to get feedback and opinions. Plenty have been provided, and there is obviously no one-size-fits-all for this particular build decision. The problem for those of us that are new to these cars is that we often have no experience driving them and have to decipher the opinions of those that have. I learned to drive in a car with manual everything -- almost to the Flintstone level! All the cars I've owned since have had power steering and brakes until now with my MKIV. I split the difference on mine and went with power steering and manual brakes (Wilwood). My faded memories of that first car were more about trying to steer the car in a parking situation rather than getting the car to stop. With just my go-cart experience, I'm very happy with the decisions I've made. The steering feels perfect so far, although I haven't had the car above about 50 MPH. The braking feels good, but I haven't done any hard "panic" stops yet. So, after 40 posts to this thread, Steve still gets to decide for himself what he builds.