WOW! That is quite a list. If you ever find a person who has cast all these rods please let me know. I am certainly no expert and wouldn't even begin to try to compare these rods myself. If you are new to bamboo and just trying to figure out what kind of rod you want then the best advice I can give you is to get your hands on as many different bamboo rods as you can and cast them. You will quickly get a feel for what you like and what works for you. Then you can compare that to other similar rods. Finding a bamboo rod that suits you is a very personal thing. If you are further along and kind of know the basics already and want to delve into the details then this link will keep you busy for days. Lots of discussion of many of the tapers in your list.

http://www.bamboorodmaking.com/html/rod_selection.html


The first rod I made was a Payne 100 and I like it very much. Smooth and accurate, medium action.

The swelled butt question is a bit easier. Basically a swelled butt kills the action of the rod where the swell begins. It will behave somewhat like a shorter rod of the same taper, feeling a bit faster. The other theory is that the one with the swelled butt is a female, the other a male.