[TheMadHatter99]

As a driver who learned on auto's and then made the earnest effort to switch to stick (despite everyone saying what a pain it was in traffic) go with the manual. Automatics disengage you from the driving experience, making you more of a passenger than a director. With a stick you are controlling nearly every facet of the driving experience directly as opposed to letting a machine do it for you.

In short if you're just gonna be cruising then an auto is good. If you want to be the conductor of your own V8 symphony, then go with the stick.

EDIT: Didn't really answer the question. Yes, stock manuals tend to be slightly faster than stock autos, but you won't really notice the difference unless you're at the track, pulling away from a stoplight, or passing some slow driver in a Prius. (I hate Prius-es.)

I can't really speak for paddleshifters, having never driven one myself.