So far I think:
- models + Shade-C (EVO) is the best (with only some limitations on e.g. terrain and tinting entites etc.). For map editor you can try Sivan's Map Builder, or e.g. build your own simple editor using Emre's WMB compiler example or maybe even GED.
- Normal default lightning with models is horrible, even when using some shaders, so only do that when you are a shader expert.
- Blocks are nice with okay lightning but WED is outdated as hell as and the map/terrain size limit with baking shadows or the limit in baking shadow quality is annoying.