Hi Nesster,
I think SilverFast is a software for professionals (beside the SE version),
it's much more sophisticated and powerfull then Vuescan or any software that comes with the scanner.
The edp awarded SilverFast as the best color management software 2008.
It's not that easy to use as the other softwares for beginners, but offers some unique features like Multi-Exposure,
ICC-Printer-Calibration, iSRD, and so on, some included, some additional.
You have to choose which ones you really need, because it get's really expensive, if you take the whole package
I think the SE plus with ME would be the right choice for your needs.
But remember, you'll need some time to get used to it, to understand all the features and to set them up properly.
Afterwards you'll get the best possible results. (There's a lot of usefull documentation in the web.)
regards
Patty