I'm not a short pips chopper but I did try spectol S1 in 1.3mm, chops not so difficult even coming from LP. Hitting through topspin was SUPER nice. I didn't switch because the short games way to big a change for me. There is a good chopper from India using them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvElDhuR5V8as well as Han Ying the female pro of course.
As far as forehand, it's super personal. Depends on your game as a whole. Nothing wrong with hurricane, rakza Z is another possibility as it is sticky and slightly more lively. I've used the tibhar def in the past, nice blade. I used it in straight, don't remember the handle being too bulky, but I don't usually pay much attention to that.