Macbook...

[jaycee]

Here's an informative, if only slightly brief, review of iWork - http://www.cnet.com.au/apple-iwork-09-339294634.htm.
As far as I'm concerned, the choice isn't between iWork and MSO for Mac, but between iWork and OpenOffice - http://www.openoffice.org/. Of course OpenOffice is free, so you should try that first, and if it's not to your liking (I'd be surprised if it wasn't, as the interface is based on MSO 2003), try iWork. But I wouldn't bother with MSO for Mac. Irrespective of having to learn a new interface that, although rather pretty, is inefficient, it has various limitations - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microso...ac#Limitations.
All three office suites support .doc and .docx, although the defaults are different for each suite.
If it means anything, a friend of mine and die-hard Mac fan uses OpenOffice, and enthusiastically promotes its use.