Another kindergarten question for you.

If I use "figure-eights" to attach my 3/4" pine table tops, what
gage/type of screw would you recommend? Keep in mind that unlike your
kitchen table at home, these will be frequently moved, most likely
lifted by the edges of the tabletops.

And ...

Is there any reason I couldn't use small garden-variety angle brackets
for this task instead of the figure-eights? Assuming I have a large
enough hole in the part that attaches to the tabletops to allow play,
that is. That way at least one of the two screws won't have any stress
in the direction that would tend to pull it out. Plus I wouldn't need to
drill out recesses for the figure-eights.