Main theme i'm looking for now is differences in stock Rem 700's vs. Savages and potential modifications to those rifles.
You picked the two that are the easiest to modify. What you need to do is decide the style of shooting you want to do with them. The best stock for a bench gun would be one with a wide flat forearm that is slick as glass. The 12 BVSS has a stock like that, but I don't like them for bench shooting because they roll out on me. That might not be the case for you. What should be noted is that a laminate stock can be easily modified by re-shaping, a synthetic can't. The Choate varmint stock would be a good choice for dual purposes provided you make a small modification for bench shooting. The butstock has a rounded piece of highly polished and finished wood attached by two drywall screws so it slides in the bag freely. Simply take it off and put in the rear pod for prone. The front rest gets a piece of plastic taped to it as does the forearm. some talc powder is applied between the surfaces. The rear bag is also dusted with talc (baby powder).
Triggers are another matter. Either you like the factory triggers or you don't, fortunatly they are easily replaced. I like my summer trigger around 9oz. I turn up the savage and replace the remmy's when it gets cold. The thing about such a lite trigger is that my guns are never chambered until they are pointed down range. I never carry them loaded and I have single shot followers in my guns.
The advantage the savage has over the Remington is that you can replace the barrel yourself. Simply order a barrel to your specs and have it delivered by mail. Have a few simple tools ane it is as easy as replacing spark plugs. To add to that, you can also replace the bolt head.
When I add it all up, I'd choose the savage with the tupperware stock. Replace the stock. Then when you're ready you can order a barrel in 6.5-284 and put it on yourself.
