I have the older BBS on my 3wt, it is a wonderful reel. That model has been d/c'd. The new Battinkill shows no drag adjustment in the photos, and according to one of the reviews on the orvis site, has no drag adjustment, but is palmable. The new medalist has an external drag, it does look like the mechanism is different from the old medalist, which has some type of fiber "brake", that works well IMHO. I dont know if the new model has a good drag or not.
The Mid-arbor, the Access I assume, weights 0.15 ounce less and costs $35 more than the comparable medalist.
I'm sure both these orvis reels are fine reels, and they have the legendary orvis warranty.

It appears to me the new medalist has a "niche", and is competitively priced with other machined reels with similar features.