I'm not able to help with your strip cutter question, as I don't have the strips; they are generally easy and quick for me to cut accurately with a rotary cutter. For triangles and the small size tumbler, I LOVE it! No dog ears, no over lapping odd angles... And very little waste. An inch, no way. I've gone as close as 1/4", and if you're careful, not a problem - although until you're more comfortable with it, I would probably use 1/2".
I considered getting a couple of the applique shape dies, but as I do very little applique, and would almost certainly not use any of them for more than one quilt, they just aren't worth the cost for me. For the tiny bit I do, I just trace onto freezer paper or fusible.