Started reading through this. First the OP wanted the best. Then he was looking for the best price, local dealer etc. That is confusing the issue.
Some will shout the "gotta have the name" BS. But given the choice, they choose the good stuff if for any reason someone else is paying for it. I would say that no one I know no matter how much they protest, would choose PSA over Mega, Seekins or KAC if not paying for it. So, most objections to quality are based on price. Hard to admit for some.
BTW,
KAC makes a great lower with ambi controls that I really like.
At first I wanted the best. Then after suggestions from here and me doing further research, I realized it's all the same shit with small differences. Differences that didn't warrant the hassle of buying online and getting it transfered thru my ffl and such. Hence why I decided to go with the best lower that my local dealer had.
The upper and trigger actually matter and that's why I'm going with geisselle and noveske (far from cheap)