...and while I agree that pd m959's are nice...they weigh 345g. PD M540's weigh 350g. PD M970's weigh 325g.

You can readily get the:
540-$50
959-$100
970-150

That extra $50 from M540's to M959's could save alot more than 5g especially when mixed with the $250 saved on the crankset.