Help me decide between first impressions for newcomers [v5]

Posting this here because the relevant subreddit has gotten too noisy lately. Not sure if this is the right place to ask, mods please remove if it is not. Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

For context, I am working with a pretty modest budget so high-end suggestions probably will not land. Mostly thinking out loud — feel free to push back hard. Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

Quick context: I am relatively new to this and trying to find my footing.