CS3 How to choose a Codec/extension wrapper and Preset for a project

Question

Goal 
To create fanvideos from commercial DVDs for personal fair use.
Potential to use to promote a series in a social media campaign with permission of owner.
Tools on Hand
Three seasons worth of the series ripped from commercial DVD --> .VOB format in TS Folders on my 2008 10.5.8 Mac using MacTheRipper
FFMpegx CODEC pack.
CS3 Premierie Pro with Mac updates that were posted on the Adobe site.
So far I've been able to
I managed to use ffmpegx to convert my .vobs into .mp4s, which I then renamed as .movs to get Premiere to recognize it.  I managed to sync my audio with the mp4 encoder (may have been a H264 but not sure by changinge the frame-rate from ntsc film to ntsc. 
Problems I've encountered
I had admittedly been experimenting with different codecs and .exts, trying to find optimum quality:size:premiere/iDVD compability, so I had a variety of source footage in my project.  For some, I had to readjust the pixel aspect ratio.  But when i rendered/exported the final product...everything was squished and incorrect.  I had sound syncing issues for some of my trials, too.  Before I was trying to make things compatable with iDVD.  I no longer care about this and have no intention of burning anything with this project. 
I saw things on the internet about using Encore's library of codecs, but couldn't find anything .dll on my computer.  I also have no idea how to use any of hte CS3 support software (bridge, extension manager, after affects)
Current steps I'd like to take
I'm starting over and converting my .vob files into something Adobe will recognize (a simple file name change didn't work in this instance).  I've read the different file types that Adobe PPro recognizes, but it's come to my attention that it prefers some file types to others.  Which extension wrappers are the least likely to cause headaches when trying to edit in Pro?
Out of those possible codecs and extension wrappers that are compatible, which are the best for fitting a lot of quality into a small filesize?  I heard good things about H264, but I don't know if the patch I dl'd will be enough to make it Adobe PrePro compatible (and I know there are a few different kinds of h264.  the only one i had any success with at all put it an mp4 mpeg container, but didn't end up being anything of a filesize savings compared to the other h264, which ended up being useless).  I have about 60 .vobs that are 2 GB big, and don't have an external hard drive yet, so this is a consideration.
How do I choose a preset for my new project?  These DVDs were released over the course of 3 years, and they don't all have the same specs in their native format (when I grab the info from DVD player, it's different).  Will I have better luck using different seasons if I convert them from .vobs to identical target file types?  I guess the better question is, when using 3 different types of files that are wrapped into .vobs, am I better off customizing the target file to match the file information DVD Player gives me for each different season....or trying to find specs that serve all three seasons best and have more uniform files imported into Premiere?  Eitherway, how do I know how to pick a Preset?  I try keeping a 16:9 or 16:9 DVD in my target files, but does that make it a widescreen project to start?  Once I start the project, is it too late to change these settings?
Thank you for helping a newbie.  I tried looking around for answers to each problem as I came across them, but eventually I got overwhelmed and threw my hands up, deleting everything.  I'm ready to ask for help and have a little patience.
*It's important for me to use free or very affordable 3rd party software, as I am currently unemployed. 

Answer 1

You MAY want to think about a product that will read the output from your DVD player and convert to DV AVI
Matt with Grass Valley Canopus in their tech support department stated that the model
110 will suffice for most hobbyist. If a person has a lot of tapes that were played
often the tape stretches and the magnetic coding diminishes. If your goal is to encode
tapes in good shape buy the 110, if you will be encoding old tapes of poor quality buy
the model 300
Both the 110 and 300 are two way devices so you may output back to tape... if you don't
need that, look at the model 55
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc55 One Way Only to Computer
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc110 for good tapes, or
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc300 better with OLD tapes