I had a strikefire, and an aimpoint pro, but sold it because of my astigmatism.

I have astigmatism too and wondered how perfectly round and even the dot is supposed to be.  I see an unevenly bright kinda blob instead of a perfect circle.

Just me, but i cringe seeing all that crap loaded on top of what is supposed to be a  fast handling self defense weapon.

Was from an EOtech promo blurb, but saw an interesting comparo of using a magnifier with holo vs. tube type red dots.  Dunno how accurate that compaison was, still more junk on the rifle.

Heck, I do not like the vertical profile of my Primary Arms M4 clone.   Worse than my scope on the .308.

That 'crap" can come in very handy in some situations, and in this case, doesn't have to remain on the rifle to have the option of using it.

My AimPoint magnifier has a QD type twist mount.  I like that better than the Larue flip mounts that keep the optic mounted.  I can keep the magnifier in my pocket/bag for easy access, and only attach it when I need to reach out farther than 1X allows me.  The only extra weight in normal configuration would be the bottom of the mount's base that stays on the rifle.

Many go with the variable zoom red dots, but from what I read, the lowest magnification isn't exactly 1X.  It's more like 1.5X, which might make a difference in close quarters HD situations (from what I read).

All I know is, the magnifier makes a huge difference at 100 yards, and almost as much at 50 yards.  I'm never going to be able to predict my needs in all situations, so I'll err on the side of flexibility.

Understand the concept, just would not want to mess with it.  Want the 5.56 to be as quick to get into play as possible.  Still deciding on irons or some sort of red dot.

Would sling my .308 if I thought might in in a position to need to take 400+ yard shots.

I have astigmatism too and wondered how perfectly round and even the dot is supposed to be.  I see an unevenly bright kinda blob instead of a perfect circle.

For me, what I would see would look more like a , instead of a crisp dot .

Just me, but i cringe seeing all that crap loaded on top of what is supposed to be a  fast handling self defense weapon.

Was from an EOtech promo blurb, but saw an interesting comparo of using a magnifier with holo vs. tube type red dots.  Dunno how accurate that compaison was, still more junk on the rifle.

Heck, I do not like the vertical profile of my Primary Arms M4 clone.   Worse than my scope on the .308.

I didn't care for a magnifier because of the bloom that resulted.  I can definitely see how the weight and bulk of the magnifier would be cumbersome.  I've only shot the gun with magnifier from a bench, so couldn't get a real good overall feel for it (as in if I had to carry it around). 

I believe I tried an EoTech magnifier with an Aimpoint M4.  Not sure what the MOA of the dot was, but the magnifier made the dot pretty large compared to the target we were shooting at 50 yards.  I just recall not being impressed, or at least to the point where I would consider buying one.

I prefer keep my ARs lighter if possible and I haven't felt the need for a magnifier that would overcome the con of weight and bulk.  "Fast handling" is also an important consideration for me. 

I have astigmatism too, but corrected with contacts. 

The Aimpoint tends to bloom for me on power settings needed for daylight conditions.  When am zeroing the gun, I turn down the power as far as I can to where I can just make out the dot and it does get sharper then.  That said, I don't mind nor have I really noticed the bloom when shooting in competition or training courses of fire as at those distances, it's not like I'm trying to get super precise.  I have shot the Aimpoints out to 200 yards and even then, the bloom wasn't bad to the point where it obscured a torso sized target. 

In terms of crispness of the dot, I found that EoTech was the sharpest, especially with the 1 MOA dot in the ring.  The Aimpoints I have now are 2 MOA.  I haven't done a side-by-side in a while, but even the 2 MOA dots didn't come close to the sharpness of the EoTech. 

The Aimpoint Pro has a pretty chunky tube that blocks a lot of your peripheral view.  I had one and sold it pretty quickly.  I think there are better choices out there, unless you need something that can take a really good bashing.  I'm a Trijicon fanboy.  I own an ACOG 4x, Accupoint 1-4x, RMR, and have owned a SRS.  Unfortunately the MRO is the only one I've never handled yet.   I've used Burris and Primary Arms optics before and they're great too.  Out of your three choices I would go MRO.

Took a 4 day carbine class outside of LV a couple years ago and brought an Eotech EXPS  with their magnifier. By the end of the 1st day had taken off the magnifier and slipped it in my pocket. Because it has a quick release I could take it on and off as needed, but for the most part really didn't need it.
Pros: magnification when needed, quick flip mount so you can flip it out of the way, quick release lever so easy to take on and off,
Cons: price, weight,  when flipped to the side the magnifier can flop on the hinge if you're manhandling the the rifle
Just my experience

The Leupold VX-1 1-4x20 or the VX-R Patrol Firedot is a good option if weight is a problem fir variable optics. It's really light around 10 oz without a mount. Most variable 1-?x weigh about a whole pound without the mount but the leupolds come in real light in comparison.
I have the VX-1 1-4x20 shotgun with the heavy duplex but I don't use it anymore because my philosophy has changed a bit based on what I use my ARs for, but it's a nice lightweight package.

I too had a magnifier and it was pretty convenient when I needed it, however I didn't use it a whole lot so I took it off. It was just too heavy for something that I would use every once in a while.

A Trijicon 1-4x Accupoint plus an Aero Precision ultralight scope mount comes out 6 oz lighter than an Eotech + magnifier set up.