You are not that far from me -- I live just a couple hours drive north of Atlanta on 441, in western NC. I've worn kilts regularly for fifteen years now; I own several, and have owned in the past several others. My go-to kilts for all seasons of the year are four yard box pleated kilts made from 16 oz heavy weight cloth. They have all the advantages of good, quality heavy weight cloth, but only weight half as much as the typical eight yard kilt, and so feel so much lighter.

That's my preference. That being said, there is nothing wrong with wanting an 8 yard kilt made from 13 oz cloth, or a six yard knife pleated kilt made from 16 oz cloth, or any other permutation.

If it were me, I'd take a vacation to the mountains, drive a couple of hours north to Franklin, NC, and pop into the Scottish Tartans Museum to see some of the different options in person before making up your mind.
Aye,
Matt