Take your time! Its a big heavy gearbox. VW stuff is pretty straightforward to get apart. Make sure the front and rear of the vehicle is up on stands. (I made the mistake of only raising the front which allows to engine/box to lean backwards all the time)

I would also change the hydraulic release bearing whilst your in there.

The other thing I did on my Golf (same engine/gearbox) was removed the driveshaft flanges from the gearbox before dropping the box out, gave me a bit more room and I think it helped. (Drained gearbox oil first)

I dont have any experience of solid flywheel conversions but some people say they are noisy and can spoil the vehicle? do your homework before you convert.

As has been said, really. A DMF is there to absorb the large amounts of torque that, in low gears particularly, would eventually tear apart the gearbox.

Replacing a DMF is a lot cheaper than replacing a gearbox.

Look for an LUK clutch (often OEM) from a specialist on eBay then ask local garage to fit. I did this on a 53 Mondeo, total bill was £750 inc parts - parts were cheaper than garage could buy for.

NEVER DO THIS

If there is a problem with the parts (they are cheap for a reason - think about it) the garage will charge you to remove them and they will then charge you to refit the replacements. You will be without a vehicle while all this takes place unless you hire one. Getting a replacement part for the faulty one could be problematic but getting monies back from any supplier to cover your additional labour costs will be difficult, from an e-bay supplier near impossible

If the garage supplies and fits a faulty part its their responsibilty to sort.

For a small saving its not worth the risk.