>>Am I going to maximize my potential using the fastest bow possible? Or should I aim for the heaviest draw I can find?
It depends on what you are going for. As mentioned a crafted Nisha shortbow is still pretty good for training and it's what I use. If you are looking for power then the battle longbow (and I think reflex template) is really good for that. IMO the comp bows don't give a big enough boost in power or appraisal to make the extra RT worth it. Really, there is a good variety of bow templates now so it's best to find one that fits your style more than trying to fit your style to a bow.
>>Prior to the rewrite, I know arrows were most of the damage component, is that still true?
>>Arrow selection is still extremely important.
This is very true, but not the only important component anymore. There is also many different templates for ammo now so you will get better results if you match the damage type done to the critter you are shooting. If they tend to be weak against a certain damage type then you can now find an arrow that has more of that damage so it will be more effective.
The short of it is there is no one bow or arrow that is the best anymore. There is now choices you can make to fit what you want. You have extremes on either end (low RT/high balance and high RT/high suitedness) and plenty of options in the middle.
