I just got an s3 for the freedom because jailbreak is dyeing but the simplicity of the ios even jailbreaking tweaking is so simple on the iphone. I wish it was as easy on the galaxy ive read up on roms and its just to much involed and risky on bricking, an iphone cant never be bricked,
1st thought, Same thing every 18yr old has to learn when they leave mommy and daddy's house: "With great freedom comes great responsibility." It sounds to me like you WANT freedom on your device, but you don't want to take the training wheels off and risk a scrape or two. Maybe you're just not ready for a real phone, and you need to go back to the little kid phone with the rubber bumpers on it.
2nd thought, If you can FOLLOW DIRECTIONS, the android community will bend over backwards to help and make sure you don't brick your device. If you follow proper protocol, like CWM, nandroid backups, full battery when flashing, watching models/versions closely, etc, it's actually REALLY DIFFICULT to do anything you can't get back out of.
Last thought, Welcome to the big leagues! As was said above, we have no use for a Cydia, as we work with the manufacturers and developers, (sorta) not AGAINST them. Apple is constantly telling you "Thou shall not..." Android's motto is more like "Sure, why not?" lol Apple makes you jailbreak because they want to limit what you can do. They want to be able to upcharge you for things it should have done right outta the box. They only make Android devices non-root from the store either because the provider requested it, (ATT, Verizon, etc) or for the same reason your company gives you a computer with you logon as "User" instead of Administrator... to protect the ignorant from themselves. (To stop the average button presser from deleting system files and such...)
So buck up, step up, and JUST DO IT! If you brick it, remember, insurance doesn't cover software tampering, but it DOES cover loss, theft, and fubar. ;-)
I know it sounds like I'm ranting, but it really is meant with a positive attitude... Read, read, read, download, read some more, copy to phone, keep reading, FLASH!!