A bit late to the party but...

I prefer to use Park Tool's bottom bracket tool (BBT-30) to remove the bearings from my Madone's bottom-bracket. The tricky part is that inner plastic tubing that goes between the bearings and isolates the spindle from the internal wiring (in my case) ... not sure if you use the tube for a mechanical cable setup ... and this reduces the size of the lip you have to work with when knocking out the bearings. This makes it a bit more challenging to get a clean strike as the the screwdriver or the fingers of the knockout tool will sometimes slip over the lip.

As for the bearings, I prefer the ceramic ones, mainly because they are harder and less prone to water damage (rusting) like the steel bearings; I've used both - steel bearing on one side completely shot after three rides in the rain . They do cost quite a bit though... $100 iirc.

Lastly, just a note, but the bearings should be tight in the BB shell as they are an interference fit. The bearings on my Madone will not come out without a tool.