the carbon will definitely soften your ride on that bike.
I like the orange one too

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about shocks and stuff. what kind of riding are you going to be doing? My bike doesn't have any shocks, I ride on the streets.

It does sound like they are trying to get you to buy a bike without considering what you want.

The last thing; i am not sure about is whether one bike would be better to pull your kid trailer or not.