I absolutely love my serger. But, I was sewing clothes long before I quilted.
I have a Viking 3/4 thread serger, not really fancy...I thread it myself. It's easy once you've done it a time or two, and if you can tie a skinny knot, it's possible to just feed the new thread thru if you want to change colors. I only have a foot pedal...have never seen one with the start/stop like sewing machines, but, I honestly have never looked for that feature so it may exist and I am just not aware of it.
I couldn't sew knits without it. It makes such a nice finish on garments...helps make them look more professional, and makes a nice sturdy seam on kids clothes. Pretty much every piece of clothes I sew I serge the edges of each part unless the seam will be enclosed.
Nancy Zieman has a "Serge and Merge" quilt--I will try to find the link to the video.