Direct aerocapture at Mars may be too big a step, at least until some experience is gained. It might be better to briefly enter the atmosphere at a shallow angle to burn off some excess velocity then use rocket engines to get rid of the rest for orbital insertion. Every bit of velocity burned off in the atmosphere pays big dividends in reduced propellant needed to enter orbit.

I still think settling into orbit before landing is a good idea. It allows you to land only the portions of the vehicle needed for surface exploration, greatly reducing your landing and liftoff mass. This was the big advantage of Lunar Orbit Rendevous for the Apollo missions. It also allows you some flexibility in choosing your landing time. At least one of the earlier Mars probes (Mariner 10, if memory serves) arrived at the destination while a planetwide duststorm was raging. Attempting a manned landing under those conditions might be just too dangerous.