Thanks for the module recos but I think in my case I don't anticipate bringing in signals that much – famous last words in modular, haha. I don't play other instruments, don't have loads of guitars laying around etc. The Sonicsmith looks really good, with all of the extra things it can do.
So with that in mind, I'm thinking about getting a very small and deep (so maybe custom) case for the ES-9 and something like the Sonicsmith - to free up a little HP in the RackBrute and take a bit of load off its power consumption (that ES-9 is a beast). I live in Brooklyn so space is an issue and it all has to fit on my desk!