RE: speed control choice
The latest firmware revision for the Castle Creations controllers addressed a few different issues. Most noticeable is the improvement in the governor mode. My battery temps dropped about 20 degrees F when I updated it. The soft start option is great as it eliminates main gear teeth getting ripped off. The spool up speed on the fastest setting is still a little too slow for my liking. I'm hoping that will be addressed in the next revision.
As mentioned by the others, the $20 Castle Link USB interface makes it so easy to change settings as well as save them. This allows you to easily try different settings combinations.