I have the DeWalt 12" slider and am very happy with it (with the exception of the hold down clamps which are worthless). Very accurate, and it took quite a bit of sideways pressure to skew the cut any along the full slide length. Fences are actually vertical !!, and you can remove the upper fence if you need to do any serious bevel cuts. I like the belt drive, which is a bit quieter than direct drive, but iot does have one quik. It kicks up when you hit the trigger. Takes a little getting used to. Easy to trigger either left or right handed. Good lock-down features to prevent damage or getting shaken out of alignment for when you are going to transport it.
I bought mine at Lowe's about a month after Christmas, when DeWalt knocked off about $100 on the price. Not sure if they will do the same this year, but around Feb is when they have done it in past years.
I bought the one with the laser light, but don't use it for fine cuts. I find it more accurate to score it with a knife and set the blade teeth exactly on the line. The one without the laser is $50 cheaper, but otherwise the same saw.
It does take up a lot of real estate, but mine is on an old Rigid MSUV (Miter Saw Utility Vehicle) so it works well for me and is easy to position where I want it when using it in the shop.
I've never had a hold down clamp for a miter saw.
I've been considering the Dewalt. It's the one I use for work. I think it's about $400 with no laser (don't want it). We used to have one of the MSUV stands and replaced it with a Dewalt bicycle cable stand and it's awful. I've been looking around for one of the older MSUV stands with square tube and a flat table under the saw. It's really nice to have a place to set things down on the saw stand. The MSUV stand made of round tube they sell now (miles better than the dewalt stand) is the one we used to have for the work saw. I think that's the one I would get. It doesn't have supports for the wings, which I would like.
I don't know why they are out of favor here, but I have had 2 - Hitachi 8-1/2" SCMSs and they both served me well. Larger mouldings were easy to cut because the saw had preset detents to lay the moulding down in the saw and get a perfect cut. With an adjustable depth stop, kerf cuts for blocking in metal studs was simple. No, you couldn't single cut a 4 x 4, but a standard 10" miter saw does that on the rare occasion it is needed. The thing I liked most about them were they were lighter and easy to get on and off the truck or out of the gang box. Unfortunately, that also made them easier to steal.
I've never gotten used to cutting crown flat. I've seen a couple of these for sale used, but sellers are mighty proud of them.