When you import a msh with ZETools, it displays the various bone parts as nulls.
When you import Fred's GroundDummy.emdl, it displays the same components as bone chains.

I prefer working with the chain components because they are easier to 'pick'.

I would like to know if there is a functional difference in working with the skeleton as nulls.
Will it affect the resulting msh negatively, or is it just a cosmetic thing (if I'm not messing with constraints and such?)

I am new to working with the ModTool, so I don't know if this is relevant.
Everything I'm working with is to be used as player units but I'm not creating/altering animations or baseposes. Some of what I'm doing requires rotating the bones into position to accommodate the mesh. (still working on that part.)

Nulls work just as well as bones for exporting models.

Awesome, thanks.