This was a very good discussion about saber design. I agree with most everything that was said. As my saber collection has grown, I have also begun to question the appropriateness of some of the "bling" features. For example, I have a Crimson Reaper, a Scorpion, and a Malice. Although these sabers look neat, where's the practicality in those claw features? Like you Nero, I like the Prophecy / Dark Prophecy hilts. Although I haven't yet begun sparring with anyone, Prophecy and Dark Prophecy are just very comfortable to grip and spin. I really like the Archon, Overlord, and Dark Standard saber hilts for the same reason. All three of them are very simple designs without the protruding "bling" apart from the covertec wheel. One thing I did observe as I was watching the replay, on my Overlord and Prophecy hilts, when I am looking at the activation switch, the covertec wheel is mounted close to the pommel at 90 degrees to the right of the switch. That is actually the best location for me because being right handed, my right hand grips the hilt close to the emitter with my left hand gripping just above the pommel. My left thumb then is comfortably positioned just above the covertec wheel with the wheel itself in the gap between my fingertips and the base of my thumb. My Dark Prophecy and Archon hilts have the covertec wheel mounted 90 degrees to the left which puts them right under my palm. I am now seriously considering moving those two covertec wheel to the other side of their hilts. My Dark Standard doesn't have a covertec wheel, and I may not put one on it.
I think you have said that you use an Archon in some of your sparring, so I conclude that you must like it. I'd like to ask if you have used either the Dark Standard or Overlord and what you think of those two hilts.
You're quite right, placement of greeblies on the hilt is another factor in practicality. I haven't actually used the Archon, but I did have a custom MR Luke ROTJ that Ultra upgraded, which is similar but has a box. Based on that, I'd definitely recommend the Archon.
Likewise, the Overlord is a really great hilt. A bit long for some, but I actually found that helpful to get a bit better control with two handed techniques. I tend to recommend the Overlord and Prophecy line over other US hilts, from personal experience.