Not sure if you've already seen this, but someone showed it to me when I first came here, and it was incredibly helpful and informative:
http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12659 .
On the lube, I've used crc in the red can for a while now, and I very much like it, it never melts anything, even if I don't 'work it in' after I spray it. It has a little bit of a smell to it (like paint thinner), but goes away. It seems to me that it has the advantage of being relatively forgiving of over-lubing. I think it has the downside of making the cube feel *slippery*, where as Jig-A-Loo has a nice *gooey* feel to it (but it has a mixed reputation as far as how bad it is for the plastic).
On the stickers, it's hard to say for me because I've messed around with textured stickers for only about a month a while ago. To be honest, I didn't like the way that they stuck out when solving, I found it distracting, and I don't think it helped my grip. I really like C4Y's stickers, because they have very distinct coloring, and they aren't shiny. Other than that, not too much experience (none with cubesmith brand).
Oh, and someone (no idea who) gave me some insight a while ago, on the topic of hardware in general. I don't remember the exact phrasing, but I think the sentiment was something like; Hardware isn't as big of a deal as it may seem. It can be a big issue in sub-20, but even horrible cubes have been solved in under 30 seconds (were talking like super-glue jammed), if you are still in the one-minute area, you may be better of experimenting than deciding. YRMV.
