aaronz, I agree that 12 faders would be more appropriate for the form factor. The SQ5 faders feel crowded to me. But a half-size Avantis would be excellent! Seems like a solid choice for smaller gigs/installations that still require the complexity and flexibility Avantis is capable of. Would also be a killer production console in a multiple-act setup.
Having less analog/AES i/o but still having two card slots would be great in my world, but curious what others would rather sacrifice.