Hi there.
I'd go pro my self, since you can edit the pdfs after you make them, directly in the pdf its actually very nice, also it has a few more features than the standard, as well as its ability to make tif's and jpgs from pdfs or whatnot.
Either way, pdf creation from word is a snap. I belive when you install pdf, some new buttosn appear in word that let you print directly to a pdf.
Mind you this will be a low resolution and small file. My personaly suggestion will be to make a postscript file (When you print there is a button that says print to file) and then distill it with print setting (acrobat pro should come with the distiller) it also alows you to distill *.prn (printer files) *.eps (Encapsulated postscripts, like the kind illustrator makes) *.ps (postscript files, which is just code for a big long text file that has all the information of your document) and you can choose your setting (From web to press)
Note that, also when you install, it should also make a PDF printer que. You can then simply print from any program to that "printer" and make a pdf. (It goes thru the distiller dialog) so make sure, when you turn on the distiller that you select it to the perfered resoultion you want (And file size) for the job at hand, becuase it uses that setting. There are also other things you have to watch for in quark when prinitng to the pdf printer becuase it often likes to use the lower resolution.
ANYWAYS (I know way to much about this) I hope that helps.
=D