For semi-auto .223, I have never seen or heard of a case that actually needed small-base dies. Without fail, every case I've seen or read turned out to be poor full-length resizing practice. The downside is high sizing force and rapid wearing of the brass near the head. If you plan to lose your brass in 2 firings, you won't care; I'm still reloading brass with 5-6 firings on it.
I have seen an actual need for SB dies for the reuse of machine-gun-fired 7.62 brass, and there might be an advantage for M1 Garands.
For brand, I like Lee, RCBS is a bit more refined, and I like Hornady's Custom line and seaters. Stay away from the Hornady American line.