OK, on my type rating course the low hours guys split pretty much 50/50 between integrated and modular. No great preference one way or the other so far as my airline is concerned. I followed the modular route, it suited my circumstances and worked out well. If I'd started at a different time and had access to the money I might have gone integrated - as you say, they both have their pros and cons.
BUT - there is one massive and indisputable advantage with the modular route. You can slow down or speed up your training to suit the job market. I cannot over-emphasise how important it is to qualify when the job market is good. If you pass the IR during a downturn, you will struggle to compete with experienced out of work pilots, not to mention the many other low-hours guys who qualified ahead of you and are still looking for work. Instrument flying skills degrade very quickly, and it can be ruinously expensive trying to maintain currency. When the upturn finally comes, your CV will look stale compared with people who have come through the system after you.
The great majority of current wannabes were not training at the time of 9/11. You have not seen a full cycle of this industry, and just how bad the job market can become for pilots. The list of bankrupt airlines is growing practically by the week, and with every new casualty comes another pile of CVs of experienced type rated pilots. What chance do you think someone with 200hrs stands against guys with 2000 plus jet hours?
This downturn is only just getting going. Winter is when airlines start to hurt, and in the present climate I would be astonished if we make it through to next spring without at least one more UK carrier going bust. In a few months you may well be competing with hundreds of experienced pilots for your first job.
Ahh, but if I start training now I won't be qualified for 14 months or so, by which time the job market will look much better. That is seriously unlikely. Research how long these industry downturns last. Look how long the effects of 9/11 and the first Gulf War lasted. Once the industry bottoms out, it will take a year or so just to soak up all the experienced out of work pilots. I genuinely believe - having seen all this before - that anyone planning on qualifying in the next two or three years will seriously struggle to find a job.
Timing is everything.