BuddyPress.org

“I want to have many users, major emphasis on articles and basically block out all the rest.”
Single install of WP 3.0.1 and you[ don’t even need BuddyPress. You can even use the Mingle Forums plugin which doesn’t require the Mingle plugin or SimplePress Forum plugin. As for central profile area, you can create WP author template plus a WP page template coded to taste for list of authors and you’re done.