BuddyPress & Sitewide vs. groups

Reading through here and trying to decide which route I need to go on this new installation.

http://codex.buddypress.org/getting-started/installing-group-and-sitewide-forums/

I don’t necessarily need Groups setup, I want sitewide – BUT, I want to be able to distinguish between non-registered users, registered, and paid users, showing each of them a different level of content, based on that user level. Outside of that, everyone once registered should see the same groups/forums/etc.

SO – can I simply use the Sitewide, or am I stuck using the Groups configuration?

Thanks to anyone who can provide some assistance!

Best,
T