I think you are on target with your concerns. I used the "Switch to Mac" version and found I didn't like the way it wanted to transfer files etc.
Additionally, when I migrated to P8, I did a fresh install of Windows as I was upgrading from Win XP to Windows 7. I then loaded Office 2010, and again, I wanted to make sure I understood the set-up/config process vs. letting the system do all the work behind the scenes.
