Roger, I have the same item you mention in #3. Works great for the money. Only thing I wished for there was that it was a bit longer/wider.
Out of curiosity, what are you using to cut curves, etc? I have been using tin snips, but man, that is serious labor if you have to do it much. I was considering an electric set of snips, but..... One thing I used most recently was an old black and decker electric hand jig saw with a metal cutting blade. That seemed to work pretty well too.