So I agree that the WeMos Mini is definitely what you should buy, but the bare chips aren't that bad to work with. I've done quite a few and I usually just solder wires to each pad on the chip and then solder the other end(s) to a breadboard (something like this http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Started-with-the-ESP... ).
You also have to pull up CH_PD and pull down GPIO15, plus usually include a voltage regulator and/or smoothing cap, which adds enough hassle that WeMos is definitely worthwhile, but it's not really that bad if you only have the bare modules.
That's true, but you need to solder, as you say, six resistors and and a capacitor, which quickly becomes a tangle of wires. I prefer breakouts just because they're a very cheap and good way to avoid this.
Just two resistors works or three if you want deep sleep. Some people recommend pulling up/down some of the other pins, but it's always worked fine for me to leave them floating. I tend to do those with solder bridges instead of wires, so it doesn't get too messy. I also usually put an LDO regulator on the power input since I have more 5V supplies on hand and I skip the smoothing cap. The output from the regulators I use is plenty smooth and it works OK.
The WeMos is infinitely easier, especially because it has the FTDI chip built in, but it's not terrible to use the bare modules. I got on the ESP8266 bandwagon fairly early, so I got used to working with the bare modules since they were all I could get.
Yeah, I usually add the rest as well, for stability. I don't really use the FTDI programmer as programming it over the air is faster and more convenient.
Heh, similarly I haven't done much with the OTA programming because I keep my ESPs on an isolated WiFi network and it's a pain in the arse to access them directly from my workstation.
Ah, you're missing out, I love OTA. Very fast, and you don't need to move the ESP at all (if it's on the same network, anyway :P). Plus, you can keep the serial line open for debugging while flashing.
You also have to pull up CH_PD and pull down GPIO15, plus usually include a voltage regulator and/or smoothing cap, which adds enough hassle that WeMos is definitely worthwhile, but it's not really that bad if you only have the bare modules.