For this sort of travel, I'd go with Priceline/Hotwire, or whatever site gave me the best rates for the area and quality I was looking for.

The aforementioned perks are greatest when staying at higher end hotels (which will likely be above your price range). For example, with Marriott, at the full service hotels, Golds & Plats get lounge access and free internet. But at the lower Marriott brands like Towneplace and Springhill, everyone gets free breakfast & internet, and there's little benefit to having status.

If you were staying an extended time in one city, say a month or more, I'd want to avoid multiple hotel switches and have more control over which exact property I was at, so I'd book directly (call the hotel directly and ask for a sales manager to negotiate rate) and work towards status. But if you're moving city to city frequently, the impact of one bad priceline hotel is minimized.