I use a Wacom Intuos II and mine is not jerky at all. It is only jerky when you don’t configure it properly. You must Take the time to configure it for pen pressure, tilt, double click and assign the proper keys to the proper buttons. This is all done easily by going to the Windows control panel and putting your pen through the mill in its control panel. Not a very big deal at all. And once you’re done, you’ll have plenty of control over the tablet. Always make sure you have the most up-to-date drivers for your tablet. I have an 8x6 and in the beginning I thought that wasn’t enough space but boy was I wrong and thankfully so since back then it cost me new over $300.00 USD, not cheap. You set the tablet to mimic screen space so that you quickly become accustom to it. Wacom allows you to use the same configurations for a number of software packages. Mine is set for Photoshop, Illustrator, Painter, 3D Studio, Paintshop Pro and a few others. All you need do is select those programs you want using your Wacom tablet. Wacom is well worth the money but there are others out there that do a reasonable job. My first tablet was a gift and after I configured it (after several months went by) I became quite use to it. It was an Acecat II 5x5 and at the time only cost $100.00 USD I don’t even know if they still make it anymore.

As a Post Script I think but not sure that Wacom sells refurbished tablets at a cheaper price. So check with them.