Not a stupid question, and I'm glad no one piped in with a "do a search". That gets old, and doesn't help.
IMHO, I think an aftermarket shifter should be the first mod for a manual transmission car. Most, if not all, aftermarket shifters are much better than stock. I like my triax (bought before the days of MGW shifters), and will keep it until it breaks (not likely), but if I were going to buy one today, I would get a Pro 5.0 shifter. I've read a lot of gushing reviews about the MGW shifter, and I'm sure it is a very good shifter, maybe the best. But the Pro 5.0 shifter might be the strongest shifter out there.
Some mods don't do much, if anything. Some provide a decent improvement. And some, like shifters, are such a huge improvement that they are almost essential.
Yeah, i test drove a mustang that had a short throw in it. Wow. Comparing a stock shifter to a short throw is like comparing a Nascar race to a NHRA race. A Nascar race may take 250 to 500 laps and up to 2+hrs to finish. A NHRA race takes only 4.5 secs....
A short throw may even preserve clutch life because you don't have to have it pressed or engaged to shift as long as the stock shifter. I was racing a Camaro and that 2nd to 3rd shift was killing me. It may not seem like much, but it's a lot when you're racing someone. That 2nd to 3rd is like shifting the stocker from your right leg to the glove compartment . And 5th, OMG, it's like putting the shifter over to the passenger side mirror. I think Ford had Yao Ming or Shaquille O'Neal to test the throws on the stock shifter...
the pro 5.0 is a very nice shifter and so is the tri ax.. in fact if I find a local one used in excellent condition for the right price I would go with that.