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Brian,
the Linear Phase LP 64 and such - the EQ and comp that has been part of the premium package for years. Every time I've used them they worked, and would make a good starting template for a mastering chain.
It's not about the plug-ins, but rather, the "desk". The current DAW GUI is not quite conducive the workflow of an out-board Mastering Engineer. I'm sure you're familiar with analog Mastering suites, where the "desk" is really an easy-to-reach and easy to very finely make adjustments with large, easy-to-read and extensive metering.
The idea is not only to bring in more Mastering-centric tools and controls, but to take away everything else that isn't. For example, to get to the ProChannel, one has to click a tiny arrow button, or press
I followed by the Pro-Channel tab. The ProChannel (in a sense), the waveform editor, and large metering should be the primary focus of a Mastering Suite.
In the latest version of Sonar, a Mastering template has been added, but we hope this is just the start. I'd personally love to see it expand, even beyond Wavelab's imagination. But, the controls and included metering in Sonar today are quite small and fiddly for such intricate and exacting tweaks.
Comparing songs in a collection is a bit more challenging as well. Although you can import audio very quickly from other sources, adjusting the output to compare the references to a new mix is a bit challenging.
Sonar is capable of Mastering as it is, and I've used it for such. I just still prefer to use a program that's suited for exactly that purpose, and I'd like to see that change.