The Makita has an extra depth stop for a scoring cut to avoid chip out.
Festool use a sacrificial zero clearance guide.
Haven't looked much more but noticed that.
Your best bet is go to a shop that stocks them and run them on the rails and see which one feels better to your touch. Remove the blades if need be and fire it up whilst doing the plunge.
The ts55 is very smooth in operation. Very well balanced, compact and sturdy. One handed operation no problem and not totally necessary to clamp the rail down.
And yes it will cut/rip timberboard.
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