Hi Mr_Teci-
As a recent owner of a Legacy XL (with FEL and BH), my advice to you would be to consider what it is you need to do with the machine. I was using a Regent with a 38" deck. I loved the way it cut, but it was taking so long. It took me 1.5 hours to mow an acre of lawn. I love to take care of my lawn, but I needed to do it faster. I also hated getting stuck on hills, or in the snow, so I wanted something with traction control or 4wd. Then there were the projects around the yard that I was going to need equipment to do (drainage, mulch, topsoil, deck, steps, retaining walls). So for me, I made a list of what was important. For me personally in order of most to least important - traction, cut quality, cut speed, snow blower speed (375' driveway), FEL, BH, other 3ph implements. Before I made my purchase, I looked all over these board for info, and found what you have found - difference of opinion. It was this difference of opinion over what was important that made things tough to compare.
My impression is that on most of the larger tractor forums, the "is this worth it" comes down to a more commercial/agricultural/utilitarian need. I don't think there are as many folks who want a great lawnmower with a fel, bh, snowblower and 3ph/pto. I know there are a couple because I've found on other forums.
So again - figure out what is important to you and then try to get a judgement of each tractor against each of those criteria.
As for me - I'm in heaven. I couldn't be happier with my purchase.
I hope this helps.
Greg
In case you want some pics of the legacy xl, i have some posted here. I'll be adding some more this weekend if the weather is halfway decent.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/depasse/tags/legacyxl/