12tribes: There's no easy answer but maybe this will help:

1. There's no competition about how many fingers you should use.

2. The majority of fingerstyles handed down (I'm not saying all) and this includes Carter Family style were derived from thumb/index finger only African American banjo styles and guitar fingerstyles.

3. In the context of your question and on your own terms (not recommending Leo Kottke for example) and outside of Tommy Emmanuel, there are really no "modern" fingerstyle players I would recommend and by "modern you mean contemporary with 1 exception: Craig Ventresco who plays hybrid with a pick and ring finger, not so much to emulate (good luck when you see his vids, LOL) but to realize how much you CAN do with just a 2 finger reference. Folks like Grossman and Miller are indeed very good, but forever grateful to MJH, Rev. Gary Davis.

4. Though often the place where folks start, I do not recommend Mississippi John Hurt (thumb plus 3 fingers) but maybe even someone like Mance Lipscombe.

5. Do whatever you want with you're pinky. That planting your pinky thing did very little to "limit" guitarists...from whom almost everyone has learned.

The only 2 habits you should avoid from the beginning: playing too fast and playing too soft.

And so tossing out a lot of 2 finger bravado here...but nail down Carter Family really FIRST!!!

BTW I started out with thumb 3 fingers long ago and wish I'd trimmed it down much sooner...a much more "popular" sound IMO...and you can even do ragtime stuff that way...

Another BTW Merle Travis played using electric guitar strings nickle wounds. You don't have to use them but even 80/20's starting out can make things easier in trems of string tension amd don't be afraid of 80/20 mediums set up right...