No 9 or 10. 8 speed was a last ditch thing when they were already obsolete.
Regina are good, so are Sachs, Maillard and there are a couple of other Italian ones.
Shimano were good, but most for sale nowadays are from todgy BSOs - but they work well enough.
Freewheel systems are in general always heavier than freehub, and weaker at the same time (all that unsupported axle).
I use screw-on rear hubs, re-spaced for reverse dish on my singlespeed - much neater than a freehub conversion I think. Plus a really spanky hub can be got very cheap.