Both units have their advantages. The Pickit2 is a pic programmer and is the easiest to use. It will self identify the pic it is connected to that it is capable of programming. It will be able to program all of the PIC's that you are currently using. It does not have the ability to program 32 bit PIC's. The Pickit3 is actually a low cost debugger which has also been given the ability to program PIC's and can program the 32 bit PICs. Currently, the only 32 bit PIC that we are using is in the EtherDongle. The downside of the Pickit3 is that it is more difficult to use. It does not auto-detect the PIC that it is connected to and the software that it uses is still a bit buggy. It also comes in debugger mode and needs to be flashed itself into programmer mode. With what you are using now, I would recommend the Pickit2 if you can get it at a good price and if and when the need arises, then also get the Pickit3. I have and use both of them, depending on what I am using it for and the Pickit2 simply does a better job on the PIC's it can work with. As for the adapters, many use the adapters from J1SYS but the only devices that you would need them for are the USB dongle and the Zeus. All of the other devices here have an ICSP header that the Pickit will plug directly into and allow you to flash the PIC on the board. If you have a SSC ver4, you could use that as your adapter for the Zeus since they use the same PIC so the only device currently that you need an adapter for is the USB dongle and even there, you could always use a breadboard but the adapter board would be easier.
