Like you earlier stated David, there is just too much info out there. Hondas are pretty widely regarded as the best machine by almost everyone out there. They set the standard long ago and came up with a great concept and stayed with it. The only problem with them that I can see is the lack of ground clearance and the fact that they still have a carbureted engine. The fact is that they really haven't changed or modernized while the competition has continually upgraded. The argument is that when you have the best product there is really no reason to change and I certainly understand that issue. I have owned severalMotorcycles made by Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha. They were all great machines that worked as advertised and gave me great satisfaction. I based some of my research on visits to dealerships that sold different manufacturers. I asked what they thought about the different machines and why. Early Polaris was junk and many of the dealers say they now are better but none claimed they were even close to the Japanese ATV's. I really liked the 500 EFI Sportsman but looking at a popular web site that does rider reviews shows there are still some issues. Apparently they have an issue with the heat from the exhaust melting the seat and plastic on the sportsmen models. I saw the same issue raised on more than one site and emailed Polaris about the problem. I never got a response and that pretty much took them off my map. The main dealer here that sells Polaris also sells Yamaha and Kawasaki and he told me the Yamahas are rock solid and seldom come back with problems. I looked in his shop and almost all the ones in there for service were Polaris. He told me the Yamaha Kodiac 400 and 450 never came back with problems and that is the size machine I wanted. Another dealership that sells Yamahas exclusively said all his machines go out of there with a 2 year dealership 24 month warrantee even without the current promotion by Yamaha. That pretty much tells me he has confidance in the product when he says he will fix any problem for nothing. The 07 Kodiac changed to the Grizz 450...same machine just different name. The thing that has me looking at the Suzuki King Quad 450 is the EFI. I live in Northern Vermont with deep snow and my primary use will be ice fishing. Cold starting is always a problem here and several of my friends have had issues with that and all the machines had conventional carbs. Most of the guys that had problems in the deep snow were riding Hondas. The 7.5" clearance just isn't enough when you are running through packed drifts on ice. The tires just start to spin and the frame bottoms out and some of those even had chains. The machines with 10" or more clearance usually do much better. EFI will provide an improvement for two reasons. The cold starting shouldn't be a problem and if I take the machine out west and elk hunt at altitude there wouldn't be any problem with re-jetting for altitude. All machines in this class range will change and come out with IRS and EFI. I suspect Honda will move towards that to keep market share when all the others go more modern. The Honda Rubicon is a great machine and would be the one I would buy if I were going to use it for work like plowing or food plot work etc. No belts and a whole different tranny than all the rest. For my use I think either the Yammie or SuzyQ will work. In 6 weeks the fish will be calling and I need to be ready.
According to Powersports Network the rider reviews for the main brands of ATV are as follows. The higher score the better.

Brand all models Reviews Avg Rating
Artic Cat 220 4.45
Can- Am 265 4.52
Honda1376 4.69
Kawasaki 660 4.57
Polaris 1034 4.51
Suzuki732 4.73
Yamaha 1909 4.72