11:47 p.m. on October 31, 2010 (EDT)
From the original post, it sounds like you are approaching the winter hand cover question as an "either/or" situation. As hinted in several of the posts, you should have a minimum of two full hand cover sets, since there is always a possibility of dropping or otherwise losing one hand or a pair at a very needy moment. I have actually witnessed this happening. Also, when wearing your hand covers, use a long cord around your neck to tie both hands together (less chance of dropping one and having it blow away when temporarily removing it when trying to manipulate something).
As long as you have 2 pairs, you can make one gloves and the others mittens.
Second thing is layering, again hinted at in several posts in the references to removable liners. Even in the absence of removable liners with a glove or mitten shell, you should wear a thin liner glove (some like silk, others like poly - I personally carry a couple of spare liner pairs since they are very small). The idea here is that, although the liners offer little insulation or wind protection, they allow you to remove a glove or mitten (tethered to you, of course) and have full manipulation almost as if you were using bare hands, but still minimally protected (no sticking to a cold metal surface, and a bit of wind and warmth protection if you are quick about it, even at -30 or -40). Gloves like the Guide model you mention allow little feel and limited flexibility, so the thin liner glove provides some momentary touch and flex with a bit of protection.
As already mentioned, mittens are definitely warmer for given insulation thickness than gloves, which provide cooling surfaces completely around each finger, so much greater area for heat loss. If your torso and head are sufficiently covered, your hands (and feet) will remain warm, even in fairly thin gloves or (better) mittens. And when you are moving, your hands and feet stay warmer. That's part of the secret of the Himalayan climbers - warm body, warm hands. Plus some people, like me, tend to have warmer hands and feet anyway (there is a fairly common inherited trait, Raynaud's phenomenon, that gives a person poor circulation in the extremities, as do constricting garments, and prior cold injuries).
My personal practice is to take 2 pairs of shell gloves with a medium and a heavy liner for each and one pair of mittens with a medium and a heavy liner, plus 3 or 4 light poly liner gloves when heading into temperatures below 0F for extended trips. The glove and mitten shells are all "gauntlet" style, coming several inches up the arm above the wrist, plus they are made with a natural curve for the fingers (there are some on the market with straight fingers, which tends to hold you hand fully open instead of draped around your poles, ice ax or ice tools). Each pair of shells is joined by a cord long enough to go around my neck. The medium and heavy liners will stick to the shells by the built-in velcro patches (I have BD, OR, and Marmot shells, the BDs being almost completely worn out, with the OR and Marmot shells being current models). On day trips, I do use gloves similar to the Guide model you mention, but by Black Diamond, Cloudveil, and OR. I also carefully check the weather forecasts and plan for the worst case of non-forecast storms (on Mt Washington, non-forecast storms are common).
Something to consider is putting a foam pad on the head of your ice ax in the area where your hand will rest when walking. That metal ax head will drain heat from your hand through the glove very rapidly in subfreezing temperatures. Cut to the right size and attached judiciously (remember duct tape?) the cover will not interfere with any use of the tool.
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