The only thing I would add is what is your bathroom count and pipe size? By code, the system should be designed to the size of the house/plumbing, and not to the current occupany level.
A 1 cu. ft. system should work just fine, but if you have a larger house, then the system may need to be larger to accomodate the potential higher flow rates. This is more of a code issue rather than what is actually needed though.
BB filters are often used as pre-filtration, I rarely recommend them but we do sell huge quantities of them due to their lower cost. I would highly recommend a seperate tank system with carbon.
As to the lightning issue... what do you do about your other electronic items? TV, microwaves, computers, DVR, etc? The house should be adequately protected. In the case of a power outage, the electronic Fleck systems will hold the correct time for up to 12 hours and does not a have a bettery backup so you will not need to replace a battery if the power goes out. I used to be a big fan of the electro-mechanical designs, but the advantages of the electronic systems and high reliability have swayed me to the electronic side.
Nova makes some very high end filtration, I wa sunaware of them making residential style equipment. I assume you are referring to the guys down in Tampa.
Stay away from the cheapest online sellers. Most of these guys do not stock equipment, they just have it drop shipped and are unaware of what you would be getting. Check out some of their adresses, they are UPS PO boxes. I would recommend spending a little more money and buying from an actual company that has a physical warehouse and a real address.
Good luck!