I have the Samsung, without the agitator, and I really like the machine. It doesn't seem t o"need" an agitator. It just washes really well. As for the soak, you can pause at any stage, and I am pretty sure you can also reprogram what it already has for longer washes, etc. The lint filters are at the top of the bowl, and super easy to remove and clean. The downside for me is the silly tune it plays when it is finished! Another upsode, its easy to choose if you just want to rinse / rinse and spin / etc. I would buy it again (this one was a hand me down from the IL's).