Yeah I'm not big on the Slider/Carb thing. My first one that I bought had a carb and now I almost exclusively use sliders. But that's more circumstance than preference. I do want to point out though that you don't really see high end stuff with carbs on it.

one of these days I'm going to have to take a photo of the collection.

My only thing about sliders over carbs is that with a slider you get a more even airflow from underneath while the carb has just a little narrow column of air so sometimes you have to work just a touch more to clear it.

As for small bong vs big bong:

Small bongs are the best, noone is going to hit a small bong and complain that it wasn't a big enough hit. You fill the chamber and continue to pull until the end of your comfort level. With small bongs I'll clear the chamber with one breath. I have a big acrylic one that's like 2.5 feet tall. Getting THAT filled is a major breath in and of itself let alone clearing it.

You just seem to have more control over the smaller ones.

My personal fave is an 18" Liquid filled top (to balance). Not a very large chamber to fill but it's really quite strong and I put a diffuser downstem and ashcatcher in it.

Some advise is crushed ice. Throw ice in a blender and you won't get that bubbling sound but the coolest thickest most comfortable smoke of your life. Some people like warm water but I'm an ice guy.

If I had the salamander, I'd name it Geico. I just ordered a vape on ebay and I'm going to name it something ridiculous probably.