Thanks for the reply, Dan. Looks like I too will need to do a lot of homework. I will start with Garmin, as you suggested, because of my chart plotter. I really don't want an auxiliary kicker so I have to find something that will tie into my ancient assisted steering system.
I went out as a first mate on a trolling charter that of course had an autopilot. It certainly made up my mind on the necessity of steering electronics.