but that's only if you're a relatively large scale miner, right? Smaller scale miners should stick to the bigger pools? (I'm ultra small scale now that my rentals are up) Am I mistaken?
A larger pool only evens out averages. A smaller pool can be more profitable in periods if they are lucky, but over time it will be the same as the larger pool. I'd say anything over 250MH/s total pool speed is acceptable if you plan to mine for at least 24h. Your own speed really doesn't matter.