I highly recommend Pylons for Python web development. It's not a "how to build an app in 10 minutes" framework.
I don't see frameworks as tools that novices should use to build applications quickly. I see frameworks as tools that experienced developers can use to eliminate grunt work. I actually like Pylons for not doing too much and giving me choices every step of the way. I can use the bits I need and customize everything else.
I tried pylons not too long ago. I liked the general idea but I ran into several problems. Building the sample didn't work out of the gate and I had to dig around the site to figure out what was wrong. I never could get the user authentication stuff (AuthKit) working with the latest version of Pylons. I finally decided that I'd rather not spend my time debugging or rewriting the framework, even if it does give me more choice.
OK, that's good to know. However, that's my general experience with Pylons. The documentation would seem to recommend AuthKit. For example, see http://wiki.pylonshq.com/. The top link is AuthKit. Is there an alternative that you are using?
The wiki site was actually originally meant to provide space for many Python projects, not just Pylons, which is why ToscaWidgets is there, for instance.
Generally we roll our own authentication using the session object. It's just as good as AuthKit, and a whole lot simpler.
Too many choices everywhere. In my mind, flexibility increases complexity and decreases performance. (from an easy to program POV) Pylons is no exception.
I don't see frameworks as tools that novices should use to build applications quickly. I see frameworks as tools that experienced developers can use to eliminate grunt work. I actually like Pylons for not doing too much and giving me choices every step of the way. I can use the bits I need and customize everything else.
But it depends on what you're looking for.