Are there any opinions about the suitability of creative commons copyright vs regular copyright when the intent is to allow unlimited personal and non-profit non-commercial use of the works.

That is one of the cc options, but I have read that the use of a cc copyright might bring an unwanted third party into any copyright disputes, and might further limit the author's rights. The suggestion was made that making a statement on the copyright page that copying for non commercial etc would be approved on request would do the same thing with fewer potential complications.