I have been a casual user of these, and more recently a more regular user. my summary likely does not help with the debate, as I have been a bargain shopper for tools rather than a 'best system' buyer.
10-12 years ago I started with <$100 12V Bosch Li-ion hex driver, once I grew tired of picking up seldom used and cmpletely discharged NiCd units. This Bosch has w/ 2 batts - slow drive and low powered but great for in-shop drill and drive. No jacobs chuck, just a 1/4" hex. Now resides with my son for household use.
Then a <$100 12V Ridgid set with drill and impact driver. Impact driver is great, even for a light and compact unit. Slower than an 18V beast, but very compact and usable. Drill in the set is OK, except the chuck is too likely to open and loose grip ... that was/is a PITA. This is now my in-shop tool set.
Next a Metabo (or Hitachi?) 18V driver with 2 batts for $50 on clearance at Lowe's a year or 2 ago; great experience. I have built or done major repairs on a few large decks with this and would consider adding more to this lineup.
Theme so far is I buy tools when I can find 'em cheap.
Continuing that theme, I bought a set of re-con Ryobi One+ 18V tools when the Direct Tools in Smithfield had a 'corporate clean out' sale that I learned about here on NCWW. For <$200 I bought (Reconditioned):
- 5 pc set (5.5" circ saw, sawsall, osc saw, drill + non-LEd 'light' which is useless), + charger and 2 batts
- 2 pc set (hammer drill and impact driver) + charger and 2 batt,
- 'quiet' impact/pulse driver,
- 6.5" circ saw,
- 1-gal compressor - which is light and portable. This with a short coil hose and my old pneumatic nailers has proven to be my solution to a 'just a few brad nails' job, where I don't want to drag out long hoses and a what feels like 70lb compressor
- plus another 12V Ridgid tool and batt
I figure if I ever wear out any of these Ryobi tools then I am using it enough to justify a more expensive brand. I do not think any of these are brushless. None has shown any signs of weakness yet through some heavy use, but mostly occasional use.
SO far my experience with these is the Ryobi One+ impact driver(s) and jigsaw are great,
- sawsall and hammer drill are fine, though I haven't put either through much of a test
- circ saw works fine too, and I love that it is light and controllable; it goes through batts somewhat quickly (I only have 1.5 and 2 Ahr batts),
- osc saw is great for work on a ladder (controllably cutting out rotted window trim), but for longer uses i would likely get out corded version
My use is on the jobsite - with max of 2 people. Neither of us are tool abusers, but these are tools there to do a job, not there to impress others or look pretty; impact driver and circ saw have had most work, and both have held up well. Only useless thing in this whole package is the 'light'.
SO I have been on what many consider the low end of tools - but they have made money for me reliably (BTW not years and years) - without impressing anyone. I do a wide variety of work and so I am not doing one thing day after day with one or three tools.
The biggest surprise (and bargain at $15) is the One+ compressor. For the occasional trim work, like a single window or door or similar, this is a far better solution IMHO than the quite expensive batt driven nail drivers (assuming you/we already have the pneumatic versions). Of course we all have our preferences, and I can see many good reasons to make different choices than I have.
So I have gone low up front cost, and have not been disappointed in the performance of any of these choices. These have been value choices, not absolute performance at more cost choices.