The really silly truth of the matter is that it probably doesn't matter too much what you buy and should probably choose what looks cool and has a good price as long as you stay within the bounds of buying a major manufacturer's stuff.
I would be comfortable diving recreationally in tropical water with the entry level current model - and even recently discontinued models - of any of the following manufacturers - USD/Aqualung, Scubapro, Mares, Sherwood, Zeagle, Dacor, Genesis, Oceanic and I am sure I have missed a few. There are other great reg manufacturers - Atomic and Apeks to name two - but from my shorter list each manufacturer has an entry level model you can buy online for less than $200- usually considerably less than $200. You will not have any problem getting those off the list serviced in the foreseeable future.
Of my list, many experienced divers stay away from the Dacor and Mares for political reasons - they don't like their distribution and parts policies/history - but performance and value at entry level is good for both. If you are using this once in a blue moon and are not obsessed with maintenence (tsk tsk) you might want something that is bulletproof like the Sherwood Brut but reputation is that performance is not as good as the others- what it has in it's favor is that it has a bleed air system in the first stage which keeps seawater a.k.a. crud out of your reg, which means if you don't service it quite like you should you're still probably alright. If you think performance might be a bit more important to you, Genesis has a similar system but test out better performance-wise. The other thing about Genesis is you can get a warranty backed by the manufacturer even if you buy online - some think this is a big deal, others don't.
You certainly are not going to go wrong if you were to choose the Aqualung Calypso (current model) or any 2nd stage along with the Scubapro Mark 2.
In summary, the world truly is your oyster, my friend, when it comes to choosing that entry level reg. So many are so capable - use my list to stay in bounds so you don't end up with Hangdog Scuba's latest experimental model and you will be fine.
As for gauges I will say that for me the regular size gauges are preferred because I find the Scubapro mini-gauges harder to read - especially with a little fog in my mask and/or poor vis. The normal sized ones are also currently cheaper. What manufacturer for the gauges? Who cares - they are all made by the same little gray-haired man in Italy anyway. Find a configuration that you like and go with that.
Have fun!
