Everyone here has their own personal favorites. For example, Rob likes the 15-1994, Jim likes the Millenium (I believe). Asking which remote is best, at least in this forum, is like asking which religion is best.
I agree with Jim. But the wal-mart is frequently out of stock of the 8810w, at least around my neck of the woods. I have started collecting one of every JP1able remote that I can, just to see what they are like. At first I liked the LCD screen ones, such as the 15-2117 and the URC8910. The LCD screen was useful at first so that, for example, when I was in CBL mode and had VPT active, and I pressed Vol+ the screen would change to TV then back to CBL. I could see what was going on when things were not working and it made it easier to fix them. Also I wanted a remote that had a "yes" in every column of the
RemoteChart.
After a while, I started to regret having such a large remote. After holding it for long periods, it seemed to weigh as much as a brick, and I frequently needed to hold it with one hand and press the buttons at the very top or bottom of the remote with the other hand because it was so large.
My current feeling is that the perfect remote for everyday use should be small and lightweight. Small is good. Small means that your fingers can reach 90% of the keys without shifting the remote up or down in your hand or using your other hand to press the buttons. The perfect remote for me does not need an LCD screen (extra weight, size), learning, nor modem upgradability. With respect to learning, it is nice to keep a learning remote (like the 8810w) in a drawer for learning. When buying a new piece of equipment, one can learn the codes from the OEM remote and create and upgrade. For everyday use, you won't need learning, which is why most extenders kill the learning function and use the eeprom learning memory for better things. With regard to modem upgradability, JP1 is much better than any modem upgrade OFA could provide.
So I have found in my own personal experience that the 6012m and the 6131m are the ones I like for everyday use. The 6012s have the look and feel of the 8810s, except they are smaller, lighter, control 6 devices (8810s control 8), and don't have learning. The 6012s also have a nice green backlight. The 6131s are similar to the 6012s except they have no backlight but 17 more keys. These extra keys have labels that are useful for PVRs and DVD players. So for setups involving TV, VCR, and a CBL box I would recommend the 6012 or the 6131. For those with TV, VCR, PVR, DVD I favor the 6131.
The 6012s and the 8810ws are available at wal-mart. Buying a 6012 and a 8810 from them might be a good idea. Be aware that the 6012 does not come with a 6 pin header or an eeprom - you will need to add these items yourself (or commission a friend to do it) - there are instructions in the JP1-yahoo files. The 6131 is available from "the Robman" already modified (see the market section of this site).