I'm very much looking forward to the hitchhikers! I've reached out to the folks at TBS directly and look forward to doing business with them in the near future!If you are going to add a lot of live rock to the tank, no additional cycling will be required and could be counter- productive. To limit bacterial competition, you don't want to encourage a lot of bacterial growth before introducing that which will be included with the live rock. And...In my opinion, the very act of driving ammonia up to start an old school cycle just gives mother nature a signal to send all sorts of uglies. Your tank may never have a detectable ammonia rise if using quality live rock.
There are two grades of live rock available from most vendors, Base and Premium. Base rock has less of the complex life on it. That is the stuff that tends to die off and raise ammonia. It does contain suitable bacteria, coralline, and other cryptic organisms needed to establish the tank. It is usually only about 66% of the price of the premium rock to boot! This is what I would start the tank with. You can order the premium rock after the tank is better established if you think the tank needs a little diversity boost.
I also think that even base rock survives better, particularly the coralline, if shipped in water rather than in wet newspaper. I know, shipping with water is more expensive, but it is worth the price. Tampa Bay Saltwater is a quality vendor and provides direction for minimizing hitchhikers and acclimating the rock into the system. BTW, hitchhikes aren't the end of the world. I really think the threat is exaggerated.