There are certain things I really like about Apollo, but because he is such a different type of figure in terms of design, he is arguably more "difficult" to use than the "standard" style poser figs. Apollo has a certain "look" by default; it's a look that's different from the many M3's and Davids (and even Freaks) out there, but it does seem to take some effort to get rid of that default look. I've seen many renders here and elsewhere so far that look very Apollo-ish. That said I've seen a few that look very different from the default as well. This tells me it is possible, it just takes time and effort. As to my recommendations to the original poster, I'd say it depends on what you're planning to do. If you want to do mostly "big guy" style renders, I'd say go with the Freak. I like the figure a lot myself. If you want something more general purpose, go with Apollo, especially since you've already mentioned Wardrobe Wizard. Think of it this way: Freak is very good for what he's intended as (being a BIG guy), better IMO than Apollo. Apollo however is much better as a general purpose figure, able to do many things, fill many roles. And yes Freak is independant of M3, you don't need one to use the other (not sure if this was answered already). FYI Many of M3's head morphs (all of them? I'm not sure) do work on the Freak as well.