[DJATOM]

VS needs more dependencies and probably not that user-friendly, but it looks like solid and complex video processing solution for me.
Python actually isn't that complex, just try to spend some time for learning things.
VS isn't guaranteed to provide maximum compatibility. Native plugins are always better. If you think it's all bloat, just stick with AVS.
It's obvious that you can't mix x86/x64 binaries, so your entire chain must be x64 (python, VS, player). AVS is also affected by that limitation.
You also can pick portable python and portable VS if you don't like the idea of installing software onto your machine.