Another one of those, "it depends" situations. My primary tractors are an
L5740 and M8540, both with cabs. I use both regularly and although we have several other tractors, these are my preference. When working in the woods, I'll take the 5740 every day and I have added cab protection to help minimize any potential damage. The 8540 is a great, very maneuverable tractor, but the cab really can limit where you go in the woods more so than the 5740.
I have much more precise control with the HST than hydraulic shuttle-shift and maintaining a constant speed is no problem with the cruise control.
Kioti does have more weight than a similar Kubota, my brother loves his, so the Kioti may well be the way to go.
I highly recommend a grapple or grapple bucket, my brother has the bucket and I have root grapples, both work well and sure save a lot of work in the woods.
My preference would be a 50 HP or better, but many get by with less.
No doubt the NH will outwork a CUT, but the physical size "might" be problematic at times. Anything you get is going to be a bit of a compromise as many of us have had to accept the ideal tractor is a minimum of two, we have nine I think.
Good luck.