[Silvers]

It depends what you want the check for... the netprop will allow them to vocalize as that character, but the model could be different... look at CSM. I think the model check is best, since people will most likely want to do something with the character they look like, and not some other character because their voice is different. For example some plugins use Bill model only to prevent crashes.

Edit: Regarding the gamemodes, I personally create the info_gamemode entity and fire it's PostSpawnActivate input, to determine gamemode. Regardless of the mp_gamemode (for example mutation12 is still Versus), it reports back if the mode is: Coop,Survival,Versus,Scavenge. Not realism.