It's a long story and there are plenty of opininons.
It all boils down to
coupling vs decoupling - you can find plenty of info about it on the Internet if you do a search (or click on my link to start with).
Depending on speakers, base, surroundings etc you might be better off coupling (and purely for SQ this is generally the preferred method) or decoupling (particularly if you don't want to transmit vibration to floors / neighbours etc) and some speakers actually work better in this scenario.
In my experience the way the speakers interface with the floor, floor material etc are important and even little things like a different type of spikes or spike feet can also make quite a difference.
But I wouldn't bother with it at this point. Go listen to some speakers (and I would certainly give the Neat Motive range a demo before making a decision), make your choice, take them home, experiment with positioning, then let the sound settle.
After a month or so, once you get used to the sound, think of weaknesses and if there's anything you'd like to improve. If you find the system too "soft" or slightly unfocused I would try to couple the speakers to a solid base and / or use something like Soundcare Superspikes, possibly on some solid, heavy granite plinths. If, on the contrary, you would like a more relaxed, softer, smoother presentation, I would explore decoupling options - sorbotane etc.
Last but not least standmounts can be capable of delivering some serious bass. But there is bass and there is bass and while the quantity can be plentiful, it's the very low (below 60-70Hz) frequencies that the standmounts generally can't reproduce. Whether you need that low bass / sub bass or not it's up to you but, again, I would certainly do some critical listening before making any decision. I would also look into bass port location and stuff, if a speaker is back ported it will probably need a fair distance from a back wall to avoid sounding boomy.
My personal advise: if the budget is tight you get more value from the best standmount you can buy rather than from the big wooden crate. Quantity and size don't equal quality and in this case more can almost always be had in the lesser package. Big speakers have resonance issues, phase issues, crossover issues and at the cheaper end of the market they are almost always bettered by similarly priced standmounts.
Think of things this way. For the same money which one do you think it will sound better: the big box (which is not cheap to manufacture) with at least three drivers generally sharing the same internal compartment, a more complex crossover etc or the small box with only two drivers, a simple crossover? Which one will have the better, more expensive drivers (although maybe not the same low end extension), which one will offer the better crossover, the better enclosure? Big speakers look good in the photos but to actually manufacture a good set of floorstands costs quite a bit more compared to standmounts. At a similar price the floorstander manufacturer will have to cut a few corners to be able to make a profit as well.