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I have a samuria, and It will go anywhere within reason. I have pulled out of the snow a full size chevy pickup with it. He sank in the snow I did not. I have had a few, the previous one got way better milage, It was an 87 the one I have now is an 88.5. In late 88 they changed a couple things, the dash got diffrent vents, the springs got a little softer and 5th gear got a little shorter. I currently get any where from 15-20mpg (it's been getting cold so there is some significant idle time, and My trips are pretty short). The hubs are almost always locked, and it is usually in 4x4 as we have lots of muddy roads and plenty of ice and snow in the winters.
The soft top is not much lighter as the roll bar and what not add a little weight.
I would lock the front first. If you are driving on pavement with the hubs unlocked no penalty for the locker. When you need the 4x4 there is much more weight on the front so you will get tremendous traction up there with the locker. 31 inch tires fit with no mods or only slight mods on the inside of the bumper. With a set of 2 inch longer shackles you get one inch of lift and that would let the 31s fit very well.
I have pulled mine out of mud holes that I knew I should not have gone into with a 1500# come along and a couple snatch blocks.
I would not worry about the wind resistance of the antenna, the samurai is not a speed demon and the thing is so draggy anyway it likely would not matter.
There are a few cams designed for low end torque (these motors need it for slogging in the muck) My understanding is that most exhausts help with the higher end of things. In the low end there is not as much volume of gasses to flow.
I had a friend who did something similar, in the good times you could drive a chevy astrovan in, and out. In the bad it was a dodge truck with full time 4x4 and locking diffs. At the end of the trail where the road starts (still a dirt road) he had an econobox waiting.
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