The faderport8 is already on its' way.  I see the live series III mixers will function as a great hardware controller, in the very near future with the next software update.

The Series III will also work as a USB audio interface while being a control surface, and if you own a Mac they'll do full audio in/out over AVB (the version that works).
 
No AVB for windows users though. (unless you don't mind paying $800+ on a network card that may or may not work)

I have Faderport 8 on the way too.....
 

If you have $500, get an FP8. If around $130 is more doable, get an FP now, and add an FP8 or FP16 down the road, if needed. The great thing is that you can continue to use the FP when you add a big brother. SO3 handles multiple control surfaces gracefully.
 
Whatever you get, you want to operate in Native mode. That'll get you the best integration with SO3. Pair that up with a new Studio 192 with recallable pre-amp control and the absence of a gain knob on a channel input (requiring adding the Mixtool on each channel) makes sense.
 
My primary complaints with PreSonus have been their deprecation of VSL in the AudioBox VSL interfaces (still for sale!) and the buggy drivers (3-4 years ago). But...they make terrific hardware. The tight integration with SO3 makes the FaderPorts and Studio 192 and Quantum audio interfaces.
 
I just plugged my new FP in and it worked great. No driver, no configuration. Nada. It just worked.

Is anyone using the Faderport 8 with Sonar Platinum ?? I heard it's a bit tricky to set up but it's suppose to work.
 
I got lucky and found a gently used one on reverb.com for $300. I'm hoping to use it with my Sonar program. The size and layout is perfect for my mini-home studio. Motorized faders with Sonar ?? Sounds like fun !!

Here is an update on the new StudioLive III DAW control from Rick at Presonus. 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vsenMkNnNo
 
I know the OP mentioned that they were not looking for preamps, but if you are eventually thinking about a all in one solution for tracking, mixing, and mastering, you might want to consider the SLIII series.
 
h