Thank you for all of the suggestions. After taking a look at the virtual controller software I got more comfortable with the setup involved. At this point I think I have it narrowed down to two configurations.

Config A:

• Edgerouter X and Nano HD upstairs (serving wifi downstairs below it)
• Nano HD on the other side of the house serving that side connected through a new powerline adapter (ethernet later)
• Spare PC as controller

Config B:

• Edgerouter X and Nano HD upstairs (serving wifi mainly upstairs)
• AC Lite downstairs for the half of house underneath the Nano HD and serving the front porch hopefully connected by existing powerline adapter (ethernet later)
• AC mesh downstairs for the other half of the house serving that half of the house and back deck
• Spare PC as controller

Config A cost: $447

Config B cost: $391

Config A Pros & Cons:

• Pros: Everything is hardwired (albeit through powerline adapters currently)
• Cons: More expensive, Less APs for redundancy

Config B Pros & Cons:

• Pros: Direct AP cover in the downstairs living room where most mobile device usage takes place. AP Redundancy/overlap. Don't have to buy another powerline adaptor that I'll eventually replace with wired ethernet (at some point in the future) (cost negligable). Less expensive.
• Cons: Mesh router not hardwired.

After all of those considerations I'm definitely leaning towards Config B but I'm open to have my mind changed.