@rowboat: a hard decision!
what i tried so far: carafino, magma (batman wings), ketos (standard and race foil) and a foilgaz (high ar) prototype.
i like the ketos a lot and love the foilgaz. carafino and magma are too slow. vmax needs to be at least around 22 knots so you can ride it out if you are overpowered and in need to go downwind.
high ar boards are more stable on the roll axis. this does not mean that they can not perform tight turns. you just need a slightly different technique. in waves more roll stability is better.
on the other hand, foilboards with a fast profile need a bit more speed to get going, so i can imagine that they are a bit harder to begin with and you need to consider that fact when you ride in the surf.
i would never ever go back to a less efficient foil. i do not race, but the feeling of a more race like foil is unbeatable.
h.