I get the feeling that for both of the 181st milage will vary. Some people I think will be able to use their special abilities for really good effect. Others will be far more comfortable running PtL with Sabers. I'm not sure either is actually the better choice.
like you stated it boils down to comfort of the player.. myself i generally like to spread the points out as much as possible to allow for more options
*yoda* "too many games lost, i have" when using pilots with high skill points and of course high cost for the same ship that shoots later, moves sooner but can have a few extra options available, that serve me better in the long run with consistency vs most pilot abilities that only come into effect a few times in a game at best