My brother is an archery hunter (I'm a muzzleloader / rifle guy), and uses climbers. After speaking with him he agreed with most of you, that I should start with a good climber. I'll probably take your / his advice and go the climber route.
I think part of my pre-season scouting routine will be to bring a small pack saw with me and remove a few low-hanging branches in different areas so I have a plethora of places available to hunt. I'm pretty sure that's kosher in the national forests where I hunt, but I'll make sure before I go get myself into trouble.