Is the Auto Pilot worth the extra money because I really cannot afford it?  If I don't get the Auto Pilot is it smart to save a little more and get the Minn Kota Edge instead of the Power Drive?

I owned a power drive TM for around 7 years. Here's the good points:

1. The wired cable foot control is nice. You can position it anywhere in the boat and steer the thing.

2. They make some nice removable mounts for the power drive motors.  This came in handy when the kiddies were younger. I removed the motor for a day on the lake skiing or tubing. That was nice.

Now the bad points:

1. They suck because the turning speed of the power drive is way tooooo slow.  It's a particular nuisance if you're fighting wind and having to manuever in shallow rock stewn water,  The power head just doesn't turn fast enough to get a boat in shallow in wind and waves, for whatever reason, and get it turned back around.  I was constantly having to reach down and turn the head manually to make emergency turns in shallow water in wind and waves.  The last thing I need is a TM that winds up getting my boat grounded or gets it's own prop chopped or busted up because it couldn't turn fast enough to get me away from a underwater hazard.

Get the edge.  Good value for the money.

Had one...don't waste your money.

I had one on my old boat, when they first came out.  Cart sums it up pretty well, they have slow reaction times for making quick turns to keep you off the rocks.  That is why I bought the maxxum for my latest boat.  But boy there are times when I do miss the auto pilot, when it is not too windy out and you are on big open water and just want to slowly cruise the bank, they cant be beat.  Too bad they can't make a tm that has the reaction time of cable control and the automation of the auto pilot.   Sooner or late they will.

I've also had the power Drive style of Minn Kota, I'll never own one again. As mentioned it's way too slow turning and will give you absolute fits in the wind. Also, with a cable style tm, when you put your foot on the pedal you know here the head is pointing. With the pd style foot pads you have to contstantly look down to see where the head is. That did actually did cause me some missed strikes when looking down and not watching my line or bait.

I went back to an All Terrain.........

I have a PD and besides the other problems already mentioned, there is no good way to route the transducer cable.  If you do go with a PD, make sure you get the universal sonar.  Also, the steering moter is too noisy for my tastes.  I'm always afraid I am spooking fish when I need to make a directional adjustment.

So is the Edge a good choice? For a 16' vhull w/ 3-4 people on it should I look to a 55lb thrust or is 40lbs enough?

I think the Edge would be a good choice. It's my opinion that 55 lbs would probably be a little better for 3-4 people.