I am leaning towatds a francide that doesits own building, rather than have other build fo them

At the end of the day they're all subbies. A large company can and do go bust and can leave you all the same problems as the small builder. Research is the key and be prepared for some stress during the build.

Legally you have no right to check progress or be on site without the builder, but most people get around it. If you have no building experience I'd suggest taking someone along with you during your after hours visits.