Ive got 2 10inch radial arm saws, a monkey wards that i traded some framing work for one day, and a DeWalt/ blackand Decker that my wife suprised me from a yard sale she paid $40 for a couple years ago. They sit in the shop staionary and one of these days i may get to building a long table for double end trims without fliping the piece around [which means cutting a hole in the side of the shop]
The neat thing about radial saws is they can give you such precision that cabinetry is made so much easier, and i spect ou could get use from it for just about any application you choose, but i too would advise getting a sliding compound miter saw. the 14" Dewalt [or other brandname] will give you a nice cut and wont leave you saying i shoulda got the bigger model. A freind of mine uses the 10 inch Makita for all his crown model jobs it just doesnt have the capacity for large chunks of wood.
I also have a fixed 10 inch miter and the blades inter chage with my radial saws and also with my 2 10 inch table saws..... a pattern i did not try to set but fell into.
Versatility is what a radial saw can provide for a staionary shop, but it you need portabitly then go for one of the chop mitre saws.
As a contractor i have had the use of many saw, and even find the wormdrive saw can be used for more things than many people would use it for, cause it is the handiest saw on the jobsite..... but then again my dad a retired logger says "if you cant doit with a powersaw [chainsaw] it really dont need doin" check pawn shops, second hand places, and even ebay, i see in the papers around here [within 70 miles or so] radial armasaws advertised regularly for around $200-300.00 fairly often. A new craftsman radial saw will run you about $850.00 +/- on sale with enough tooling to get you what you wanna start to do.
William