I'm a long time BB user coming from a 7130, then a 8330 Curve, now a 9550 Storm2, all on Verizon.
I really liked Sure Type and missed it when I went from the 7130 to the Curve. But the Curve did come with spell checker so I adapted to it. For the last year I'm back using Sure Type in Portrait Mode on the Storm 2 and except for an occasional problem it works well for me.
My choice would be the Torch/Sure Type slide out keyboard. My contract isn't up for awhile so maybe they'll come out with one?