Would You Rather: Zero pedal kickback and a really slow to engage hub or instant engagment and pedal kickback all over the place?

 This is bs. Kickback is caused by poor kinimatics or too small of a chainring/too big a cog. Low engagmeent just masks it. You can have low kickback, fast engagment ef and eficient pedaling with or without pedaling platform. It just takes a good design, propper sag and correct drivetrainspec

 Kickback occurs when the hub is engaged and there is force on the pedals, and the chain length gets longer when the suspension travels. When the rear axle moves further away from the crank during suspension travel the engaged cassette will pull back the chain from the crank and you will feel it is pedal kick back. So a higher engagement hub will not make a difference because you remain engaged in the hub regardless of engagement points.

 I LOVE my TPC instant engagement hubs and never notice kickback.

 Just buy a hardtail!