🚀 go-pugleaf

Mark,
The Command key will switch to the last selection tool used in illustrator. If the last tool you used was the Selection tool, that's what you'll get, if it was the Direct Selection tool, that's what you'll get. In fact, you can hold Command-Option hit Tab and you can switch between the two selection tools on the fly. Or if you have the Direct Selection tool active, hold down option to get the Group Selection tool, a tool Photoshop doesn't even have.

So draw a path, want to move an anchor, hold Command.. oops it's the Selection tool. Then hold Command-Option and tap the Tab key, Let go of the option key (keep holding Command) now it's the direct selection tool.. move the anchor, let go of command.. back to drawing. Finish drawing want to move the whole path, not just an anchor (Still with the pen tool active) hold Command (Which gives you the Direct Selection tool since you switched it earlier) then hold Option as well, click the path, it selects the entire path, let go of Option (still holding Command) and move the path. Let go of command... keep drawing. Not a single trip to the toolbar.

When working in Illustrator I'm constantly hitting Command and Command-Option-Tab while drawing. Honestly, Photoshop vector tools pale in comparison to Illustrator. The only thing Photoshop has that Illustrator doesn't is the "rubber band" option for the pen tool, that's it. Everything else, Illustrator does and does better in my opinion. I never use the rubber band option in Photoshop, so I never miss it in Illustrator.