Hi Alex! Good to see you again 🙂
I will be building new sites in 7.1 from now on and I am also in the process of redesigning my own on 7.1. It's still not perfect but quite a few improvements have been made (color management is definitely better now) and the more I get to know it the more I love it!
Since all 7.1 templates have the same architecture it doesn't really matter which one you choose. I usually start on Bailard because that reminds me of good old Bedford 🙂 Hester looks like Brine.
7.1 was released into GA in January so all new trials start on it now. The URL is https://www