Hmmmm, I'm not one for the crazy unseen effects. I can still appreciate the effects that have been used a bunch of times. So with that in mind I like number five. ("Number Five alive!") I likethe lighting on it. The only thing that would make it better if it were the Spartan was centered a little more. And I would say number one would be a runner up.
Number 1 and 2 look like you are standing in front of coloumns (<-- spelling?) Number 3 and 5 are last resort but props for lining up the barriers pretty well. Im bad at it. Number 4 is just too bright. A flare maybe? I dunno. I think the effects you are using are just too common (with an exception of #3 because no one knows about it.) I think i like 5 the best. Just because of pose though. Sorry if this sounded at all harsh. BTW ace... look at my [sup]new[/sup] signiture.