JCMs are definitely a must ! Weightmaps and bulgemaps can do a lot, but only a JCM can move a vertex into any direction possible. But I see no advantage for falloff zones when it comes to JCMs. I use ColorCurvators MorphLoader to do my JCMs, but GoZ should work just as well. (I have ZBrush, but refuse to upgrade). Creating a JCM takes me basically 5 to 10 minutes, including using the dependency editor. (I once stopped the time for a shoulder JCM. HeHe) Did you create reverse deformations by substracting the influence zones somehow ? That must have been a lot of effort. :-o