i wouldn't base my decision on a lockout fork or not. half the time i forget i have it. its not the end of the world not having it.
you're going for hard tails at that price...right? why don't you focus on getting an upgradeable frame?? you should be able to find a frame in that price range that could also be on a 1500 dollar bike i would think.
also, huge thing in my book and something i would consider are the brakes. i would get something that is disc no matter what. tektro is fine. it will still slow you down. but this way, if you like everything and stay with the sport you can easily upgrade to some avid Juicy 5s for a little over 200 bucks without the added hassle of getting all new wheels as well. dealing with low quality disc brakes for a couple months without having to deal with new wheels as well would be worth it to me anyway. if you don't like the look of brake bosses on the frame you might even keep your eye out for frames that do not have them. although in that price range it might be harder to find.