For me it would be the Topps set, but I am a Topps collector. The only Bowman set I did was the 53 Color. But if you do a goggle search for "SCD 1955 Bowman set" it will turn a a fairly recent SCD article on that set which is very favorable for many of the reasons you mentioned. I can post a link to it when I have access to my regular computer
http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.co...of-1955-bowman
And here is a link to an earlier SCD article on the Topps set
http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.co...psBaseball.pdf