Get the self-healer. If you don't you'll just be buying another one long before you should have to. I prefer the Olfa. I haven't had any that smelled bad, but I know some quilters do complain of that. Someone on one of these threads gave a solution to that problem, I just can't remember what it was.
Be very careful not to keep it in your car any longer than it takes to get it home. They buckle with heat and it's just about impossible to flatten them out.
As for cleaning the fuzz off when it builds up, I just use a "scrubby." The same thing I use for cleaning my pots and pans. It takes a few seconds. 8-)