Luke... This Q&A from Macworld sorta answered my question about missing the 17" option...

From @jasontho: With the extra resolution does it feel like there more room on the screen than the old 15-inch? Am I going to miss my 17 inch?

With a Retina MacBook Pro at the More Space setting (1920-by-1200) sitting next to a 15-inch 2011 MacBook Pro at 1440-by-900, the extra room on the Retina MacBook Pro is quite noticable. Perhaps the only thing you?ll miss about your 17-inch laptop is the workout you get from carrying it around.
That was answered by someone who currently has a 17" MBP.