JP -
Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that you feel a desktop has no need for a firewall. But, in all honesty, it is not the first time I have heard a security expert express a similar viewpoint. I do agree that installing a lot of unneeded crap on a system will bog down performance but . . . configured correctly - a firewall and AV program can consume few system resources. I also believe the combination of firewall, AV and OS is important . . . what I mean is, I've found some AV's don't 'play well' with certain firewall programs or operating systems and the same goes for firewalls, etc. (Clear as mud - right?!)

Anywho, my vote is for: firewall, AV (with email scan), ad/mal/spyware cleaner with a reliable trojan cleaner/blocker . . . for a bare minimum.

That's my 2 cents . . . for all it's worth.

V.