The Micron is a pretty sweet synth. A friend of mine has the ION which I think is the same engine, only thing is the Micron is a bitch to program.
Have you checked out the Novation XIO synth?
If I ever get around to buying a laptop, I'll probably get this as a controller/synth.
Anyway, I reckon getting a synth as opposed to just a straight MIDI controller is a good option, especially as the build quality on the MAudio gear is not that great