I can tell you I own the the Brother SQ 9000 you showed a link to and I like this machine. It is a nice starter machine if you can't and I couldn't afford an expensive machine. It does a lot and comes with many attatchments. I paid $170 buying off of ebay new, so if you can get it for $154 go for it, especially if you ship site to store. No shipping charges.
I'm still trying to figure out how to use some of the features. If your looking for fancy on the like the embroidery though it is very basic letters, and I haven't figured out the stippling stitch yet. Just haven't taken the time. Yes you can program the needle up/down feature. Good Luck.