Agreed about the black hardware. Also the Black Knight version of the Monarchy looks the coolest imo, the Red, Blue, and Purple all look great too, but the Black just looks tougher and is a little more neutral for a long stage performance if your only using one guitar all night.
I'm leaning more towards the Monarchy series mainly because of the ergonomics, there's nothing in the way. No heel under the neck at the upper frets.
My biggest beef with electric guitars in general is the volume knob. It's usually too close to the picking area and gets in the way, that inhibits my style a lot and I find my right pinky accidentally turning down the volume knob during a song, especially when doing leads. Some manufacturers have figured this out.
That's why I don't like Strats, they have the dreaded heel on the body, the volume knob is in the way, and a single coil pick-up right under the picking and strumming area.. I've had a PRS custom 22 since 1993. While a great guitar, the volume isn't as bad but still a bit too close. PRS is also guilty of the heel on the neck too. Kind of a cross between a Strat and a Les Paul.
I'm also interested in Keisel guitars. It looks like they've addressed all these issues on some of their models, and the craftsmanship is superb! They make beautiful guitars, plus they will custom make a guitar for anybody, not just famous musicians.