I have always been a bit of a tool obsessive, I really like quality tools and do believe in buying right, and buying once. I've seen cheaper drills burn out on heavier duty tasks, joist drilling or particularly large hole saws, as well as snapped handles, and broken chucks.
I have had my makita 3 speed combi, impact and SDS since near the start of my apprenticeship, the combi is approaching 13 years old now, dropped from steps, had a mighty rough life on large industrial sites, plenty of domestic and automotive DIY and my own jobs, no signs of giving up.
I tend to agree that the top brands are much of a muchness however, I have used dewalt and bosch and found them to feel nice, powerful and robust. I would typically look for metal gearing and chuck. I do like the dewalt flexvolt thing, and resent the fact the higher power makita tooling requires non cross compatible batteries and tools.
Makita UK customer service has been absolutely second to none in the one instance I have used it. Faulty impact wrench, collected the following day, and a replacement delivered to me the day after that with no questions asked. I have no experience with the other brands, but Makita being the only independently owned of the lot for some reason resonates with me.