I have the Qbot for my machine, so I can only speak to that...one of my favorite things about it is the record function...I can record myself free hand stitching a block, then have it stitch out what I just stitched on my other blocks. As for automated systems, they do speed up your turn around time.
My qbot works with ".plt" format, and I was able to find a free program that will convert drawings, etc. to the format qbot uses,so if I can't find the pattern I like, I can draw it, then convert it and stitch it. I imagine you can do that with any automated head. Goof Luck!