After consulting via PM with some of Steve's other customers, I stuck my toe in the water with his smallest mininet. It's been just ten days, and the KW has already moved from #17 to #10 in MicrositeMasters, (#9 in RankCheckerAce) -- and one of the biggest assets has yet to go live.
I should add that the links aren't even all hammering at the anchor charted above; in consultation with Steve they are diluted at least 50% with a selection of branding, generic and ancillary KWs.
In any event, Steve's communication is excellent and speed is fantastic: the sites get built like clockwork. And he doesn't skimp on sharing his expertise. If, like me, you could benefit from talking w/someone with many years of SEO under his belt it would almost be worth buying one of his services simply for the opportunity to consult with him.
FYI, this review was not compensated in any way (and he doesn't know I'm giving it.) Anyway, Steve gets my highest recommendation, particularly if you're looking for a whiter-hat way to rank client sites that lets you skip the part where you apologize for wrecking their business.