The biggest issue in all of this is parsing the .doc - if you can do that, then you can create a PS file and use ps2pdf to finish it off. So, you really want to be looking for something that parses doc -> ps. And, given that MS has been very very tight with the .doc format, it may not be doable.
My criteria for good software:
- Does it work?
- Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?