I think it depends on how much louder you want to go and what kind of sound you want to achieve. Removing the cats will definitely make it louder, but I don't know if it would be too loud or raspy for you. Other catback/muffler setups may make it loud enough for you while keeping a similar tone. I may be wrong, but I don't think the s types are the loudest mufflers.
YouTube can be a good resource for researching exhaust setups.
Long tubes definitely change the sound up for the better. Resonators, axle backs, cat backs, etc. they all change the sound and loudness. A cat delete always wakes up the loudness