But for what?

Kimber TLE II, or a TLE/RL II - I don`t have a combat pistol, let alone a semi-auto handgun.  This would be my main weapon of choice for most situations.  There isn`t much I would do to it, unlike my Remington 870, so it`s great out of the box.  This is the decision I am leaning towards right now.

Remington 870 Project - So far I haven`t done anything to my scattergun.  Currently, it is my only gun that is suitable for defense.  It`s shootable, but it would be much better with things like a Surefire fore-end.

Get the kimber.
Then add a mag extension to your 870 and work up from there.

Get a Kimber.

Deep down inside, I think those are good answers.

But, I would like to know why you would take the Kimber over the 870 project.

Because EVERYONE NEEDS a 1911.  When you get it (and you will, dang it), you will understand .  Also, as you said, you don't have a combat/defense/target semi-auto pistol.  The shotty is pretty effective as is, and add on's aren't expensive nor hard to install yourself.