I would give the little one a go... if I was working steady and it was about a year ago in my coffee roasting journey... the 5lb I would give a try if I was working steady and the price was not so close to a good used commercial 5 lb roaster...
the conversation over at Home Barista seems a little lopsided to me... the basic fact is do you want the comfort and convenience of automation that the Behmor and others bring or do you want the batch size and true drum roast control that you get with a commercial machine.... kinda like the full auto espresso machines and the old lever machines... you either want a consistent and acceptable shot within a week of opening he box (higher level of mediocrity) or you want to chase that elusive 1 in ?? perfect shot that JohnF and staylor occasionally wax and wane eloquently about... I am in that group...
Ichi-go ichi-e (一期一会, literally "one time, one meeting""for this time only," "never again,")
(or maybe it is late and I should go to sleep