Welcome Jeremy.
My expirence with the Tamiya tanks is only about 2 years old but I have the Pershing and the King Tiger. The King Tiger is more capable than the Pershing due to the much wider foot print. I had posted some pics of the king tiger in action about 2 weeks ago. It is very capable. I am not to sure of the Tiger I, although it has a large foot print too. The Sherman and the Pershing, in my opinion, are sharper looking but not as capable as the Tiger II. My Pershing, since it has rear driven sprockets, gets caught up in the grass a lot. The King Tiger has front driven sprockets and does not get caught up in the grass. I have taken both out in the snow and the King, due to the larger tracks, is able to due a bit more than the Pershing. I do, however, like the functions of the Pershing...the front lights, tail lights, sound and evern the safty feature of the tank not going into gear until you push the trim down and then move the stick down and back to nuetral. Prevents the tank from taking off into the wall when you turn it on. All in all, I love my King and I'm partial to it. The tank is very easy to maintain too. The Pershing is a pain to take apart. This is just my opinion. As for the radio and receiver. I have the Futabu Skyport. 80 bucks and it works just fine. Came with servos rechargable battery and charger. Best of luck with your decision.