Here is my two cents. Outfitter in TX, Pulsar is the way to go no question they are leaps and bounds ahead of the others until you get into the 10k range.
The XQ 38 is what I recommend the most for best budget thermal around the 3000-3500 mark. It has all the bells and whistles. If you don’t care about recording then go with I think it’s the core or helion model. Same processor just without bells and whistles for around the 2k mark.
If going thermal don’t go any less than a 384 processor, every zoom is applied the resolution is essentially cut in half. Flir isn’t selling public and have not been impressed with their models in the past anyways.
As far as Nightvision I haven’t yet played with Pulsar scopes. I hear they are great though. I do have an ATN X sight. It’s actually surprisingly good for the 500 mark.
You will need to definitely upgrade the IR light. It is so much better with a high quality IR light and can be used up to 150 yards without issue. Also an external battery pack is a must as it eats batteries.
The biggest disadvantage I see with it is when firing the jolt recalibrated the screen so follow up shots are not quick.