I've got about 2000 miles on my AVS dbs (had them mounted in march) and love them. Haven't drive them in snow, but they're great in slush and rain.

Since you're in madison, maybe you want to think about different tires, but I dunno. I only drive about 200 miles a month so I'm not too worried about the winter. You could always pick up a spare set of rims and some Blizzaks and be even happier.

If you're not going to have to drive during snow storms / before roads are cleared, I say get the AVS db's. The only downside is that they're so bleeding quiet that you start hearing all the other stuff that's wrong with your car