Woah, thanks for all the suggestions! This forum is even more responsive and helpful than I remember
Picked the bike up this morning and got the shop to keep the cheap-o platforms on, so I can ride for the time being. I might take the pedals from my 29'er for now and use them until I make my final decision.
The more I think about it, the less I am wanting a clipless setup. While I understand the benefits, I just hate having my feet locked in place (have used both cages and straps before and could never get used to them).
If I do decide on platforms long-term, I'm starting to realize the $40-70 range has a lot of great options. For some reason the Shimano XT's are really speaking to me from an aesthetics standpoint (and the brand will match the other components on the bike).