In reply to:
That said, many posters here will tell you (and I agree with them) that the center is ultinately the most important piece of the puzzle, as so much movie information is fed to that speaker
Which is why it is so important to either get the best match for the LR mains (exact same speaker would be the ideal albeit not practical) or go phantom to ensure that the center material exactly matches the sound from the mains. If there is no concern about (far) off-axis listening (out of the sweet spot) a center is an added expense that most can do without.
Obviously, if one has a huge room with lots of folks sitting near the side walls then a dedicated center becomes essential.
