Depends on your requirements.
If you just need some RESTful communication with a server then Resty isnt too bad (Though I never used it, it looks straightforward).
Restkit on the other hand is one powerful package because of 1 ultimate feature. Integration with core data. Restkit is able to parse Json responses, make them into objects and save these objects to core data with minimal coding out of the box. This makes it highly useful in case this is the type of functionality you are looking for.
I would encourage you to define the functionality you need and have a look at the frameworks. If it basic stuff, as you say, then one can argue that Restkit may be too powerful.
As for the inbuilt JSON parsing library, well it is way down the list in priority. These framework already includes a Json parser and they work pretty well. I would seriously consider the advantages before I go on to retrofit these packaged frameworks with a JSON parser of choice.