But if a package is going to be the default for a distribution, it should also be fairly simple for new users to configure and adapt to.
What MTA configuration would a new user be expected to do? It sounds like the big one is enabling inbound scanning.
How "RPM-friendly" are Exim and Postfix to adding plug-ins? Can I just run the install RPM for the plug-in and these MTA's pick them up? Or is manual configuration necessary? (For comparison, most sendmail plug-ins currently require manual configuration, usually by copying some lines from the plug-in's readme to the sendmail.mc file. But a smarter plug-in could just provide an M4 file to include in sendmail's cf "feature" files and the user could just re-make the mc file to incorporate it.)