Not to say I were any wiser, but I think you are on the right track concerning the bigger amount of buttons. Especially if you are already familiar with the twisty stick. On the other hand pedals are also nice to have, but to be honest I seem to use the rudder less than the left hand functions. Even turning seems to benefit more from using the throttle than the rudder!
You do know that AH can take a multitude of controllers at the same time, so if you have a steering wheel with pedals lying around, you can map the pedals to control the rudder, leaving the rest of the wheel thingy aside.