Ditto. RIS sucks. NQC is good. I don't have much (any) expieriance in Robolab.
The
Mindstorms SDK is worth checking out. Specifically MindScript, which is like C.
If you want, you can also try the Spirit control. You can use it in VB and VC++. PM/e-mail me for that, as it is no longer available.
LUGNET is also a very good resource.
What is the target PBrick? RCX, Scout, CyberMaster, Spybot, what?
IM me if you have problems.