Is there anyone that has claimed to have met him that you particularly trust?
No, I don't believe anyone would claim to meet him and represent him and be a believer. Not a single saying would be attributed to him.
Let us think about it. To attribute to something to God, we need decisive proof. The Messenger is the clear proof according to Suratal Bayana as he is the living Quran, and the miracles he presents verify him.
The Quran was not telling people to be naive and accept every Tom Dick and Jerry who claims something with respect to religion, it was actually saying you should reject everyone without proof and bring your proof if you are truthful.
Quran and Mohammad were a clear proof. Imam Ali was a proof. The Imams are clear proofs.
However, these people are not clear proofs. No scholar can reach that level, that humanity has to trust what he has to say regarding God or his representative.
Everyone has the right to analyse the words attributed by a person to the Imams previous to Imam Mahdi obviously, and see if it contradicts Quran and reason or not.
So then the question, is what is the proof today? What role does Imam Mahdi play with believers?
The hadiths and Quran have to be downloaded to the heart. That is they require reflection. Constant reflection day to day. Over and over again.
The the thing, is we will be able through the help and name of God understand Quran if we guard our relationship with God and fear his judgment which we cannot escape over that of people.
If we remember the true witness that defines us while no other witness does, and the closest witnesses that see degrees in truth to that vision and act of creation of God by which he with all things, the seeing and hearing one, is the witnesses he appoints, the leaders and guides.
Now the problem with people in the past religions is they all claimed to believe in light but as Quran reminds, talked in conjecture about the unseen while they were distant.
The Quran talks about how Mohammad can connect them with a sign from the highest reality but only on certain conditions, if the people were capable of receiving and downloading the sign.
The remembrance of age can remind us of the wonders of God, the proof is by which the book is truly recited, and the true hadiths can be downloaded to the heart.
He is the means towards seeing the path and is the central guide in the etiquette of the Prophet in Salah and in the various forms of Zakat, and is the means to gain vision on the unseen road to God.
The Quran warns of the leadership of the people of the book and then emphasizes on the leadership of Abraham and the successors of Moses in Suratal Baqara.
It warns of their leadership and then emphasizes on obedience to God, the Messenger and Ulil-Amr.
It warns of their leadership, not to take the people of the book as authorities regarding God's religion and then emphasises on the sole Mastery of God, his MEssenger, and a group of people Imam Ali represented (ie. the successors). It warns then after of not taking authorities of those who have made the religion into a play thing and game.
It warns in the 6th Surah of those who demand so much proofs and pose so much questions towards God's chosen leaders and religion, but don't apply that sketicism towards who in the interior hidden kingdom, are friends of Satan and who plan against God's chosen, the most wicked of the people, don't question their leadership and authority with the same demands of proofs regarding God's chosen showing the hypocritical basis of disbelief.
And indeed the upright religion, when it talks about it, and designates it's holy number, warns of those who made people worship humans from the scholars of the people of the book and warns and addresses believers of those who take people's wealth and don't spend in God's way from numerous religious clergy.
And the rope of God and rope from humans were always the chosen families a long with the revelations that came with them, those who understood the religion first hand and who don't mix the Taghut with the authority of God's hanhold.
Those who represented God's truth and guided by the light of his beautiful names.
Those who were the way after the founder, being the very way of the founder, split into twelve ways, as they were captains who sail by the name of God taking by the covenant of their founder, the door opened that who turned away from turned away from God's help and rope, and who turned away from, didn't want the guidance but wanted the falsehood instead.
Indeed it's old trick to say "where is the Guide now" and say "we need scholars to hold his authority" until "he returns". Satan had me fooled for a long time but not now.
We do need scholars, but not to claim his authority, but make rest of humanity into scholars and teach the book and we all become Rabaniyoon by what we teach of the book and by what we study, the only way to not worship a human!