Well, we've finally got our mission, so let's... digress and talk about Mec Bodies.
There are eight of them. There are also seven different mec characters, most of whom are those body types. We have four at the moment.
T260G's default body, the one that Taco built, is
Type 1. All it has equipped is a Mecbody, for 10 defense, and has a base 5 in all stats. However, having seven open inventory slots on a mec is a really good thing -- it lets you customize the mec however you want. In T260G's scenario, Leonard gives her a memory chip that boosts her Intelligence, but if recruited in any other scenario, T260G is unchipped. Oh well.
The
Type 2 body is anti-mec. Given the number of mec enemies and mec-exclusive dungeons in T260's scenario, it's no surprise you don't get a mec of this body type. When activated, the ECM system reduces accuracy of incoming missiles to 0 -- but I'm not sure what counts as a "missile" in this case because the BigDiggers always open their fights with the ECM system, followed by me shooting them repeatedly with Hyperion and HEAT Bazookas. The after the Bit System is launched, it will automatically attack foes at the end of each turn.
The
Type 3 model is ZEKE's. It's fast, and has an Accelerator system to increase its speed further if you decide you need to for some reason. It comes equipped with a rail cannon and an AT Missile, which are so weak as to be nigh-useless.
The
Type 4 body is a medical robot. The Medipack restores HP to non-mecs, so it's damned useless in this scenario with its all-mec party.
The
Type 5 body is PzkwV's frame. He's slightly sturdier than other mecs, but has the fewest open equipment slots around his built-in rail cannon, AT Missile, and Micromissile batteries.
EngineerCar and Leonard are both
Type 6. EngineerCar comes with a Vulcan machinegun and a RepairPack to restore mec's HP in battle. Leonard replaces the Vulcan cannon with a BeamSword, but keeps the RepairPack.
If you're ignoring the junk shop and gold ingot tricks,
Type 7 Mecs are a pretty good choice. The Hammer they come with is a good midgame weapon, and their base stats are decent. No NPC mec comes with this body form, so only T260G can have it.
Type 8 is the Omega body we picked up at HQ. The V-Max system is its signature piece of gear, drastically increasing its stats in battle.
V-TECH JUST KICKED IN YO
Having V-Max active also unlocks Starlight Shower (high damage to all enemies) and CosmicRave (very high damage to one enemy).
CosmicRave is a series of flying tackles.
StarlightShower is a storm of those curvy lasers you get in anime sometimes.
Omega isn't all that useful, though. In short fights, it takes a turn to activate V-Max, which you could be spending beating things up. In long fights, V-Max wears off after five turns, which drops all your stats far below what they were to start with. So all in all, the best body is still good ol' Type 1 with good equipment.