Newbie has some simple questions

I have developed an interest in building a plasma table (I already do
metal artwork as a hobby and have a Hypertherm Powermax 600 plasma
cutter). Although I am a EE it has been MANY years since I did any
electronics work (I am 58 and retired) so I need and want to learn a
lot.

My idea is to first build an inexpensive small XYZ engraver with small
stepper motors. From this effort I plan on determining if I want to
proceed on the more expensive plasma table. Since I also have use for
an engraver it wouldn't be a waste.

My questions:

1. Does this make sense?

1. I plan on only procuring one set of: Software, interface breakout
board and motor controllers. Does this make sense? Essentially this
question boils down to: Can I use larger controllers (i.e. Gecko) for
small motors at first and then larger ones later (I realize an EE
ought to able to aswer this but I haven't even researched it yet).