Of the programs you listed, I considered the Field Morey, PIC, American Flyers and Sporty's Hawaii. Since I had access to a 182 and just had to pay for the gas, it was pretty much a no brainer for me. I went with an independent instructor and we basically followed the PIC syllabus.
You can go back and and look at my posts to get a feel for my experience. I would definitely do the accelerated route again. It is pretty intense, but fit my schedule and lifestyle the best of all options. If you do an accelerated 7-10 day course, definitely go for the 10+ day option. We did mine in basically 7-8 and it was too fast. If you want info on the instructor I used (he is from the east coast), pm me or email me.
If money isn't as much of an object as it was for me, I would do the Field Morey West Coast adventure. Everything I've read and heard about it is first rate plus you're flying a great aircraft and seeing a lot of different conditions. The cost, about $7k is about what the Sporty's Hawaii course costs.
I liked the idea of taking my family to Hawaii and training there, but it would not have been much of a vacation for me. Too many distractions. I figured I'd save the money and go back to Hawaii with the family when I did not have to study and devote myself to flying 5-8 hours a day for 12 days.
The American Flyers option in my opinion was just too expensive. They have a good reputation and the one guy who I talked to who had gone through their program had positive things to say. But for $12-14k, I knew I could get both the instrument AND commercial elsewhere and be just as well qualified.
I finished my accelerated program in February after a few glitches with partial panel on the checkride(s)
and have flown about an hour under the hood since. I feel good about my skills, but I will continue to go up with my local CFI before I tackle any hard IMC.
The key to these accelerated courses is being absolutely prepared knowledge wise before you start the course. I felt very comfortable about my knowledge for the instrument, having prepared beforehand using the King videos for the written and Gleim and PIC manual for the maneuvers. You are going to have plenty to digest flying and learning procedures during the 10 or so days, so knowing the "book stuff" cold will really help. Best of luck with your training. Sounds like from your previous posts, it would be easier to get out of the DC area. What a pain!
-Rob
