so I have never played either BG1 or 2.
Should I wait for the upcoming enhanced editions which aren't going to be on GoG but on some flunky looking site called beamdog for twice the price OR get it nowish (playing a few other games I wanna wrap up first) on GoG and reap the benefits of not needing a client running in background and no DRM

basically do you BG vets think the improvements/new content/etc will be worth all the hassles?

Well the first Enhanced Edition is almost out the door now (coming 18th of Sept), so if you can wait for it and you think the extra 18-ish hours of content is worth the extra 10 bucks to you (8 if you pre-order), then I'd say it's probably a good idea to get that.

The second Enhanced Edition probably won't be out for another year, so if you get hooked on BG and need your fix the GOG version of BG2 seems like the obvious solution.

BG1 feels really old, unmodded. A lot of people prefer it to be run in the BG2 engine. You'd need GOG's BG2 (for the engine) + BG1 (for the game content) + the mod Tutu or BG Trilogy.

BGEE is, besides the new content, a way to play BG1 in a much more enhanced engine, replacing the need for a lots of mods (especially bugfix mods won't be necessary anymore). But if it's worth the extra price, is a point of heated debate on forum.baldursgate.com (BGEE's own forum) and you should make up your own mind.

My advice for easier enjoyment would be to wait for BGEE. The extra price is worth what it delivers in my opinion.

ya, I have plenty of games to slog through to hold me over until the EE comes out next month, so I guess it won't hurt to wait for reviews of that.

I really hope that it releases on GoG soon (if at all) as I really don't want to have to sign up and run yet another game client, especially just to play 2 games, as judging from the site beamdog just seems really bad when compared to GoG and Steam.

You will have to sign up to get BGEE, but the Beamdog cliënt won't be needed. Due to request, BGEE will me made available with it's own directly downloadable installer, which checks if you legally purchased the game, but AFTER installing, you don't need to be online, it won't need a cliënt to run.

*edit: corrected the info after checking out http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/2011/pre-order-faq/p2

If your new to BG, get the GOG version. And if you like it then you can continue your journey through the Forgotten Realms immediately in BG2, Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights, that are all available on GOG. Unlike the BGEE which isn't even out yet, and we don't know when or if the BG2EE will be out.
+You won't fully appreciate the BGEE if you haven't played the original.

My suggestion.
Get BG1+BG2 on GOG and follow this very easy step-by-step guide http://www.gog.com/en/forum/baldurs_gate_series/newbie_guide_modding_bg1_if_you_buy_bg1_bg2_from_gog/page1
And when you finished these great games and some time has passed, and BG2EE is released, then you will know if you want to get BGEE.

I'm hoping the EE will revitalized the multiplayer aspect. You can multiplay with anyone on any system. I think that will add some fun to the game.

From the graphics I've seen so far, it just hasn't been that big of an improvement IMO. But the sound quality hasn't been shown, nor AI and pathfinding improvements -- which would be big deal to me.

You can definitely play the games today and have a blast with GOG's versions.

I'm also all for trying the original before playing the upgraded version, but I suspect spending an extra $10 for that might not seem like it would be worth if to someone who has never played the series before.

I think it depends on what is more important to you: graphics or gameplay, and if you are willing to take an hour or two to first set up the game to your liking. For me to be very happy with how the game looks visually all it takes is running BG1 on BG2's engine and applying a few improvements such as ease of use tweaks and widescreen support. Now if I wanted everything to look super polished visually and wouldn't want to waste a minute setting the game up before playing I would most definitely wait for the EE. But in my case I won't (or wouldn't), since all the games I play are on the PC and I run 95%+ of them on my WinXP virtual machine only (less hassle with compatibility, no clutter on my host OS, greater portability), which means that a) I don't really care about graphics and b) I like to tinker :).

I actually have played a large portion of Neverwinter Nights, I enjoyed some of it but it crashed frequently on me (i think it was purchased digitally from IGNs service which I no longer use) and ran pretty poorly despite my having a system that can run games FAR more advanced so I just ended up rage quitting that game.

I would also like to know are the story lines of BG1 and 2 connected or is the series more like say a final fantasy game where each one is totally seperate (different world, characters, story, etc)?

The two games are very much connected indeed. They tell the story of your main character, and once you're finished with the first game you can import your character into the second one. In fact, just the intro sequence of BG2 will instantly spoil the whole storyline of BG1, so be aware of that in case you want to avoid it.