[voakbasda]

Yocto does not have a low barrier to entry, at least when it comes to making lots of customizations and then supporting them over time (e.g. upgrades). If you are willing to climb its learning curve, it definitely would be my recommendation for rolling a custom system.

[eschneider]

Yeah, it's a bit inscrutable when you're starting out, but once you finally 'get it', it all makes sense and stuff is easy to find in the docs. Buildroot seems easier to start out with, but I like the Yocto features more myself.