Hello bradleyjere, Welcome to the RouterForums 
I will not tell you which router to select. But I will give you some advice. Go to Sears, Home Depot, Lowe's or any other store in your area that carries routers and pick it up and see how it feels in your hands. Try both the Plunge and Fixed Bases. If you find the one that feels good in your hands then you will like it. This is what I did and almost drove my wife crazy from all of my trips to the stores. If you find one you like but it does not feel right then you will hate using it. I bought the Bosch because it felt right in my hands, especially the fixed base. I started out with my dads old Black and Decker router, but I wanted to use 1/2" bits but it would not do what I wanted it too. Then I bought a 2 1/4 HP Bosch 1617 EVS Combo Kit. I used the fixed base in my Bosch Router Table then bought the 3 1/4 HP Bosch 1619 EVS just recently and it went straight into my Router table. So now I have my 1617 to use for any free hand work I want to use it for. I have my Plunge base set up for doing some other things right now but can change it to the original base plate any time if I want too. I use my fixed base now for Dadoes and grooves or Rounderovers in plywood because that is what I am using alot of now. If I had not bought the Bosch 1619 on sale I would have bought another 1617. I now have 7 Routers with 3 mounted in Router tables and 2 of these are trim routers. I received my dads other B&D Router and table recently but have not used it yet.
I would not recommend buying a 3 1/4 HP Router for free hand use to start out with, it will be heavy and bulky for that, but it is your choice.
Once you start using your Router you will find all kinds of things to do with it, and will enjoy using it if you buy the one that feels right in your hands.
Good luck and Happy Hunting. I know how you feel about hunting routers I did the same thing. But liked the Bosch.
I will not tell you which router to select. But I will give you some advice. Go to Sears, Home Depot, Lowe's or any other store in your area that carries routers and pick it up and see how it feels in your hands. Try both the Plunge and Fixed Bases. If you find the one that feels good in your hands then you will like it. This is what I did and almost drove my wife crazy from all of my trips to the stores. If you find one you like but it does not feel right then you will hate using it. I bought the Bosch because it felt right in my hands, especially the fixed base. I started out with my dads old Black and Decker router, but I wanted to use 1/2" bits but it would not do what I wanted it too. Then I bought a 2 1/4 HP Bosch 1617 EVS Combo Kit. I used the fixed base in my Bosch Router Table then bought the 3 1/4 HP Bosch 1619 EVS just recently and it went straight into my Router table. So now I have my 1617 to use for any free hand work I want to use it for. I have my Plunge base set up for doing some other things right now but can change it to the original base plate any time if I want too. I use my fixed base now for Dadoes and grooves or Rounderovers in plywood because that is what I am using alot of now. If I had not bought the Bosch 1619 on sale I would have bought another 1617. I now have 7 Routers with 3 mounted in Router tables and 2 of these are trim routers. I received my dads other B&D Router and table recently but have not used it yet.
I would not recommend buying a 3 1/4 HP Router for free hand use to start out with, it will be heavy and bulky for that, but it is your choice.
Once you start using your Router you will find all kinds of things to do with it, and will enjoy using it if you buy the one that feels right in your hands.
Good luck and Happy Hunting. I know how you feel about hunting routers I did the same thing. But liked the Bosch.