I've got to chime in on the CH discussion as well.
I've owned a non-USB Pro Throttle, Pro Pedals, a ForceFX Joystick and their steering wheel as well for about 5 years now. I've tried almost every HOTAS out there, and you just can't beat the CH stuff for quality, reliability and just plain ease-of-use. My only complaint I have with my current setup is that with it being the Gameport style (non-usb) I have to dual-boot to Win98 to program the stick, and my fancy force-feedback joystick is no longer supported in WinXP. Get CH Products stuff, you just can't go wrong with it! :D
The Cougar has an undeniable gee-whiz factor and looks cool, but I just keep hearing about problems, bad springs, bad pots, and the fact that everyone says you need to spend more money on the mod kits has turned me off the Cougar.