I agree with many on this forum who cautioned about a large tax bite associated with a lump sum. But I would still lean towards the lump sum for a number of reasons:
1) Frequently the "tax bite" is really just an extra large tax withholding because, suddenly you got thrown into another bracket for that pay cycle. But, for the year as a whole, you stayed where you were percentage wise.
2) You probably have the ability to defer some or all of the taxes on that money by diverting to a tax deferred IRA or (maybe) 401K.
3) If you take it as payouts, it will feel like you are still on the payroll and reduce your incentive to look for another job.
4) If you take it as payouts, you are still dependent on the organization making those payments -- but a number of things could interfere: such as bankruptcy or they might decide that you violated their non-compete clauses and cancel the rest of the payments.

I like the cash in MY hand. Not theirs...