Mike,

You have posted this question many times now and you obviously haven't found an advisor you are happy with. No one can make this choice for you.

I hate to drag this out for months with a bunch of personal 'get acquainted' interviews...but is there any other logical way to help make a decision to separate the 'good' from the 'great' advisor...(even to narrow the field to a well-chosen handful would be a huge step forward).

There are no great advisors. You have been given all the references, etc. you need, but you can't avoid the work of screening individual candidates.

As CPF Bruce Miller said: Sometimes the best you can do is to find a planner who doesn't have a compensation plan that would seem to be at odds with your best
interests. And if you have a planner who has decided that 'his/her own best interests are served by consistently providing a quality plan to his/her clients', that is probably as good as it gets.  

The problem you may have is that you personally are not grounded in investing fundamentals. And if you aren't, it's impossible to evaluate the recommendations of an advisor or to properly screen for one. The irony is that once you are familiar with fundamentals, you may not need an advisor.

The other possibility is that you will not trust any advisor. If that's the case, you should direct your efforts into learning investing basics so you do have the confidence to do it yourself.  

In a previous post I provided a link to a chapter in Investing Essentials that dealt with choosing and advisor, but if you are not familar with fundamentals, then I would now suggest you read chapters 1-8. This will tell you what to look for and it also may give you the confidence to continue your education and do it yourself. Smart investing is not hard.

http://investingessentials.blogspot.com/ 

You haven't provided any information about your financial situation, but if you want to  list your assets in percentages and the type of accounts you have, you will get some suggestions that will give you a perspective on where you're at and what you might do. 

regards,

Paul