I can't comment on the virtues of the E38 versus the E38-200, other than my personal preference for the head aft. It's larger, and more conveniently placed.
As for the Ericson versus the PSC Ericson, I noted at few important differences. First, the decks on the PSC had noticeably less cracking, even though the boats were only a couple of years apart. Not that the E38-200's we saw had bad crazing, but the PSC deck was very clean. Comparable to the Tartans of the time.
A second difference was the improved ports and I believe the winches. PSC removed the wood trim around the ports in favor of a white, MDF type board. Perhaps to cut costs, lighten the interior or perhaps hide future signs of water intrusion. They also replaced the Barient winches in favor of Lewmar.
The deck tie down was also different on the PSC, choosing a metal angled piece to the mast. The Ericson design was a separate post. Which is better, is unknown.
The plumbing and electrical seemed of a higher caliber, as well as the engine. PSC used Volvo's then switched over to Yanmar, later, I think. This replaced the old Universal's.
All in all, both are quite nice boats!
As you say, all the "versions" have their good features.
A couple of trivia quibbles, if I may... by the fall of '88, Ericson was installing Lewmar winches. We have six of 'em on our '88 boat. If it were not for the scarcity of spare parts over time, I would kind of prefer the more robust albeit older Barients -- and they also had the first really great ST mechanism that self-adjusted for multiple line sizes. (Lewmar was not able to compete in that part of ST technology until the Barient patent expired.)
As for plumbing/electrical parts, all the high end builders were steadily improving through the 80's, and sometimes the "improvements" later looked more like 'changes' rather than actual 'improvements'....
Engines -- well, the Universal diesels are among the best one could find in boats, and Yanmar would be right up there, too.
Volvo, OTOH, had (and has) a reputation for selling engines to builders at "loss leader" OEM pricing and then making it up later on high priced parts. While I would not turn down a PSC-built boat just because it had a Volvo, it would have to be a much-better-than-average bargain otherwise. That' s just my prejudice, and YMMV.
Subjective observations: I and my wife prefer boats with the head aft, like our own boat.
But, the E-38-200, not only has the aft head (and shower stall) but also reduced the "nav desk" to a little desk where one sits on the back edge of the settee and faces aft. Not our choice.
The original E-38 (and the E-381) have a full-on forward-facing nav desk and a dedicated seat for it. While the head and shower stall is forward, we would really like the desk layout a lot better.
Again, YMMV...
Loren