Firewire Storage and other questions

I was surprised by my fiancee with a new MBP for Christmas, so I was unprepared for the new computer. I am looking to get a backup solution and since I can use FW800, I figure I should use it. I was think 2 TB would be a good goal. I still have the 500GB HDD in the MBP and would like to do 3 partitions for Time Machine (1TB), possibly a bootable clone (might just use a 640 notebook drive I bought for my old Asus and didn't install yet), and whatever is left for files/media that could be accessed by Windows/Linux.

My question is if people have had better luck with something like a LaCie or Iomega drive with FW800 or buying a drive and an enclosure. They end up being about the same price right now if I bought the Samsung 2TB on sale at Newegg right now and its another $70 or so for the Macally enclosure. I am leaning towards the LaCie since I could imagine Samsung or WD blaming a premature failure on the enclosure.

On a second note, do many of you buy those external cases you clip on (one brand is Speck)? I was on Amazon and saw a ton of these things available with a lot of positive feedback.

 

I have two WD MyBooks and they've been working well for a few years with my Windows machine and my MacBook Pro. I think whichever solution is cheaper is the way to go.