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So I've looked everywhere, Google, the search function on the forum, everywhere, and I can't seem to find a nice neat list of the types of IG lists, what you need for them, and how they work. Like take for example Air Cav lists, simple right? put dudes in valks and vendettas, but then what? if people could post a summary of each type of list that would really help new IG players like myself.
Here's a nice little format:

Style Name
What you need: (put what you need to play it here)
How it plays: (describe the playstyle and essential tactics to this type of army)
Level of competitiveness: Not Competitive/ Semi Competitive/ Competitive

If we can all pitch in we can maybe turn this into an article and provide a nice resource for anyone contemplating starting guard.

Well, that's the problem. Just because an army fits a certain "style" doesn't mean there's a set list of things you take.

For example, Ailaros and I both play "foot guard". We focus on lots of infantry, and don't take chimeras. That's pretty much our only similarity. I take lots of platoon infantry squads with minimal upgrades, as well as HWS's and leman russ support. I take lots of weaker troops, but take so many it overwhelms my opponents. Ailaros takes what he calls "duravets", aka vet squads in carapace armor. His vet squads pack much higher quality firepower, yet they have much lower numbers and support. They rely on being a more elite army and can't just swamp the enemy in bodies.

And that's just two players. I've seen several other ways of running foot IG that look nothing like my two examples. And that's not even counting aircav, leafblower, or hybrid lists. With that in mind, it's almost impossible to make a "one stop shop" for army lists. And plus, that would just mean we'd have a compilation of netlists, and most people dislike using those anyways.

There are about four guard players at my FLGS. Two play the same style as MrMoustaffa described. The third plays a varient on the "mech vets" style that is called "air Cav". Mainly he flies a platoon around in a squadron of three Valks/Vendettas, (PCS in one, infantry squad in the others). He has a second squadron that has two Vets squads in each and a CCS in the third. Other than that, he runs stormtroopers squads and has run alot of hydras/manticores in the heavy slot.

I run an odd list, fluff. I like to take those units that others don't. I run it off a mech vet list. So, three to four vet squads in a Chimera. Usually Commissar yarrick with 5 ogryns in a chimera. These are followed up with a manticore, leman russ squads, maybe anything from Ratlings, penal legion squads, to armored sentinels.

Either way you go, heavy foot infantry, mech vets, air cav, heavy armor, you are going to spend about the same. Just figure out what you want and go with that.

That's the nice thing about guard is the ease of which you can transition your army from one theme to another. I've always felt that when you play guard, you are never done collecting. Originally when I started playing, I started to build towards gunline with basilisks. Once the valk/vendetta came out, I started to transition to hybrid mechvet/aircav. Then I eventually started to enjoy the idea of power blobs and just got to collecting troops and support them with russes and other heavy support. I currently am now leaning towards a more mixed list (Blob, vets, valks, hounds, and russes in some sort of priority depending on how I feel) now that I have all these cool things and the nice thing about the guard codex is that most things work well with one another.

If you want your list to be competitive just analyze your local meta and netlists. It's not to hard to build a good all-rounder guard list with a theme, and still have fun. Martin pretty much summed it up: pick a list type you think you'll enjoy and just roll with it. You can always change and alter it as you go.

That said, I'm not sure how aircav fits into 6th anymore. Don't all fliers have to be put into reserve (somewhere in the new FAQ)? That and your army can only put half or so into reserve that kind of makes pure aircav impossible, no?

Full aircav is pretty impossible. You need SOMETHING on the ground. A firebase, a few tanks, even a scouting taurus or two (just make sure they dont die in the first turn)

One of the things I've always liked about the Guard is there are many ways to field a fun army. I've been stuck in the middle of Nowhere for a about a year, so I haven't been able to play 6th edition yet, but I am up on rules at least.

I liked to actually switch my army composition up, between light foot infantry and Guard Panzer group.

For the foot list, I took two 55 man platoons, 3 heavy weapons squads, and 2 Basilisk SPA (Self propelled artillery). I run heavy bolters in one platoon, and missle and LC in the other. For the heavy weapon squads I like auto cannons or one squad of LC. I usually go with a mix of plasma, melta and flamer in the squads. I like to keep a vet squad with plasma near my objectives because of my two friends who often deep strike Palladins near my objectives.

For the Panzer group, I used to field 2 LRMBT, 1 Demolisher, 2 SPA, and 4 mechanized squads. Usually at least one small platoon or a few squads on foot as well to guard rear objectives. With 6th edition I do believe I'll be switching up my armor quite a bit when I get home, unless LB makes a comeback.

My good buddy at home likes to run a fairly combined arms force. He runs half his boys foot, half mechanized, usually a (non-ordinance) Leman Russ variant (Executioner or Exterminator most of the time), then 2 Vendeta for CAS (Close air support). His air power kills armor, and his armor kills INF. Sometimes he goes with a storm trooper squad in a Valkyrie, and sometimes a Manicore. One guy he always takes however is Marbo. If you're playing him, you can count on that little SOB to show up somewhere you don't want him to be. He usually tries to coordinate him with the valkyrie when he can, for usually fairly decent results.

I really don't care about WAAC, so much as I like to just have a fun time and nice looking army. That being said I usually did pretty good with the two above list.

AIrcav is possible in 6th, there just has to be a model on the board turn one. Fliers, and the units inside, are ignored when it comes to the requirement of putting models on the board. Preferably a manticore hidden out of the line of sight of your opponent's army. his Valks and Vendettas coming in turn 2 is a sight to behold.

I usually run a mixed list. I have elements of a gunline, a three squad infantry platoon with a couple of lascannon heavy weapons teams, that sits on the home objective. I've got some elements of a mech list, with one to two squadrons of vetrans armed with special weapons inside a few chimeras, and one or two tanks.

For fun, I run an armored blitzkrieg. Six Leman Russes with infantry squadrons following behind as they carve a path through the enemy. It's interesting, to say the least, if not terribly competitive.

Hmmmm.... Man, I just had a very unorthodox thought for a mostly air Cav list, how about starting with a CCS with an astropath hidden somewhere, preferably in the shade so they can sit down and have a spot of tea while they call in reinforcements.

Then like go crazy and hide 2 Deathstrikes on opposite sides of your deployment zone? If you hide them well, maybe you can force your opponent to get his troops out of position as he sprints in the open towards your missiles. Then maybe, just maybe you could get the airborne in just in time, in typical cavalry fashion (Showing up too early would be bad form after all). Then blow the forces away that are in the open going after, or that may have just destroyed your missile tanks. And if you actually get to launch a death strike, you can probably nuke-clear an object for a Valkyrie Squad to take... I somehow doubt this would work well, but I think it would be hilarious to try some day.