Need Some Opinions/Feedback on Equipment Upgrade

I am about to purchase some equipment so that I can do full volume boils. However, I have a couple thoughts in my head that I keep battling about what directions to go. I would really appreciate some guidance. I do not intent this to turn into any kind of flame war. I am just a new guy looking for some helpful insight.

The Kettle Size:
People keep saying to go bigger then were you are now, because you will want the larger kettle later. I am only doing 5 gallon batches and I have a hard time seeing myself doing much larger later. Has this ever been the case or anyone else or does it always seem to lead to the larger batches. Basically I am on the fence between 10g and 15g pot.

The Kettle Itself:
I know that I want the three possible kettle accessories: the valve, thermometer, and sight glass. I also know that I do not like the wider than tall kettles. I prefer the taller than wide kettles. With these desires, I seem to be looking at two possible manufacturers: Bichmann and Spike. Both look awesome and each has a couple things that give them an edge over the other in my opinion:

Blichmann Pros:
All the features I want, pickup tube, and the ability to use the button false bottom in the future.
HopBlocker (or HopStopper)
3-Pieace Ball Valve
Blichmann Cons:
If going with 15g kettle, cannot use thermometer when doing 5G batches unless new hole is drilled.
I cannot fit immersion chiller in kettle with hopblocker. I have seen some 8" chillers, but I think they will still be too big. Would need to get Therminator or perhaps the HopStopper and then just put an immersion chiller on top.

Spike Pros:
Can get 15G for price of 10G Blichmann
Welded Fittings (although not a major pro for me)
Looks like I can still use thermometer regardless of 10G or 5G batches.
Spike Cons:
No dip tube
No easy to add hop filter support such as HopBlocker or HopStopper. You can also tell that I personally prefer to not use hop bags. I like the free throw in.
Not many reviews or feedback from other customers.

Chiller:
There are two choices in my mind, either a immersion or a Therminator. The immersion is nice and simple. Add it in, cool it down and drain. The terminator also has the advantage at being faster and more compact at the cost of more money and chance of infection if not properly cleaned. But does the speed make that much of a difference if I am only doing a 5G batch. Things I have read online seems like people absolutely love their therminators.
I would appreciate any feedback or comments from people who may have gone through the same decision I have been.

I would really like to hear peoples opinions. Thanks!

If you really don't ever see yourself brewing larger than 5 gal batches then a ten gal pot will be fine. I do ten gal boils and try to end up with 7.5 gal of finished beer and use 15 gal pots which seem the perfect size for that. I could have gotten by with a ten gal HLT though.
I agree with you on the height/width preference and you can't go wrong with either of the pots your looking at. I have three Blichman's and love them. The pick-up tubes, false bottom and sight gauges are all very sweet!
With my previous keggle setup I used an immersion chiller and switched to a plate chiller when I got the new pots. Not really much difference in chilling time with smaller batches. With the Blichman tappered bottom/pickup tube design I can get a really nice whirlpool (manually) at the end of the boil am able to leave virtually all the hops/break material behind. I had a recirculating IC with my keggle set up and didn't get nearly as good results. The IC is simple but is sorta in the way. Cleaning and sanitizing the plate chiller is pretty simple so I wouldn't let that dissuade you from getting one if you like them. Overall I'd say I prefer the plate chiller over the IC.

I got the 12.5 spike then I got the 26 gallon update pot and got a welder to weld a triclamp fitting. The 12 spike second fitting only works on eight or more gallons.

You will go bigger then five when you realize a five gallon batch takes the same as a 10 or 15 gallon batch.

My mash run is a 19.8 gallon stout with bottom outlet.

Just to give you more info to agonize over.

Site gauge is another thing to clean.
If you don't mind cleaning, not a big deal.
But if you are trying to eliminate cleaning steps in your brewing (I always am)
a dip stick is a great substitute.

On a 10 or 15 gallon pot it is not a big deal to tilt the pot to get the
last bit of wort out. Lack of a dip tube on the Spike is a con but maybe not a big one.
The Spike pot does have a full 1/2" nipple so you could add an aftermarket
dip tube (or hop stopper) later if you want to.

Thermometer is nice to have but keep your expectations low for these
mechanical thermometers. Get a good electronic thermometer if you
care about accuracy. Fortunately on a boil kettle, accuracy is not needed.

What's nice about an immersion chiller is you can cool the wort, then whirlpool
to get the trub and hop bits into the center. Let sit for 20 minutes, then drain
to the fermenter.

With an plate chiller like the Therminator you need to figure out how to stop
the hops from flowing into it. Lots of ways to solve the problem. Hop Blocker,
Hop Stopper, hop spider, bags. They all have pros and cons.

Bob