There is no way to make a recommendation without knowing your fitness level. If you are underpowered, then get a big cassette so you never have to walk up a mountain. If you have pleanty of power, then closer spacing will let you fine tune your spin on a long climb or when riding in a pace line. The main problem with compact cranks vs. triples is that you have fewer gears to work with, so you have to choose wisely.

Of course, cassettes are cheap enough that you can get a couple of different sizes and switch them around depending on your next ride.