Hey steady there. Its reasonable that people offer their opinion even if you want to do your own thing (which I'm all for). They can be fun for a while, bit like zoom tubes etc and they can sometimes make for a cheaper replacement. To be fair, we're not against them but the paint on them is still poo
That said, I avoided the can but the pipes last a good long while of looked after. I used to like the sound of the Monza on bugs although regretably they don't last too long. You're quite lucky in having the earlier system like me as that gives you many more options than later exhaust systems.

Rear apron can pose a few problems though.
The bonfire reference was about getting the paint off prior to applying VHT by the way - saves £4 on a gas cylinder for the torch.