one high flow cat. I get a little exhaust smell when the motor (and cat) are cold but afterwards its nice. I even passed emissions last week. But, to answer your question, one stock cat is more likely to flow better than 2 high-flow cats. Look into the Randomtech high-flow cats, as they are supposed to flow very well due to their unique design.
I know emmisions here don't apply to me (I'm registered in FL), but hypothetically I'd like to be able to pass emmisions without so much as a sweat. Basically for my own sense of security.
maybe do a shorty DP like the kind Stromung makes, any catless UP, and then keep the stock midpipe cat. It's far enough away that it wont be quite the bottle neck as the downpipe cat or uppipe cat.