blueskies - I'm an electronic engineer by profession, and also a long time RS turbo enthusiast. I know more about ECU's and in particular MS than most people. If you were near to me I would encourage you to go for MS as it is a very poweful ECU. I have tried it on a number of extreme engine setups (that doesn;t mean big power as such) and have had very good results with it. However, it isn't for the beginner. There are more suitable ECU's for that.
I will ask you, what is it that's attracting you to MS? I suspect the price? I don't think it's the features as by your own admission your not too well up on them. MS is hugely configurable, but in that respect introduces you to many variables.

If you want a good ECU that you can learn with and accept the risk that learning brings, then i'd go for a Pectel T2.

Rick