Any thoughts? Anybody here have experience in this sort of thing?

i never owned a physical midi keyboard but i did dabble in sony acid music production and the in-built midi keyboard. loads of fun. just need time and practice. you can do anything. :)

Weighted keys are a must if you're used to the feel of a piano, but that's about it. Even the cheap stuff has pitch and mod wheels (though it's usually best to manually write that stuff in; recording either tends to result in an unmanageable mess of nodes not easily edited). So long as you buy something you're comfortable with and that complements your workflow, you can't go too wrong. To that end, it's always a good idea to go to a store and try a bunch out to get a feel for what you like and don't like, even if you don't end up buying from there.

I recommend to get full width (5 octave) synthesizer instead with pressure sensitivity support, if you consider actually playing on it. Most of them have midi out direct or via usb. Also I recommend a brand new one, as keys (membranes under them) are subject to wear. The mechanical version (e-piano) is far better, but key release time is much slower and it weights and costs much more.

Mini drum pads, knobs and sliders come in handy. Some of them have different options for pitch and mod wheels or strips.

It's funny because Logitech had a keyboard released which had one knob they were they advertised how great it was while midi keyboards have had far better options for ages and would have been suitable for gaming especially on flight simulations. So much for the PC master race.