I'll throw my $0.02 in here...
I ran a smittybuilt XRC8 on my old 4Runner, and am currently running a smittybuilt XRC9.5 on my toyota pickup. Both are fairly lightweight rock crawler rigs. I haven't had any serious problems with the 2 smittybuilt winches. Only complaint is that sometimes the free spool lever can be finicky, and sometimes doesn't want to cooperate. But neither winch has ever left me in a bad spot. 4WheelParts owns the smittybuilt brand, so if you buy one through them, they are pretty good about warrantying things out and giving you a brand new replacement on the spot. I have not had to warranty out either of my smittybuilts though.
On my suburban, I have a Warn 9.5ti that has been run into the ground and back. It came on the truck when I bought it 3 years ago, and had been on half a dozen offroad rigs prior to the previous owner putting it on the suburban. The solenoid(s) are almost shot, but with a couple taps with a rubber mallet, she still comes to life. I will say, the Warn is a beast. It is not afraid to pull. The fact that it is still working today is a testament to the quality of the brand.
If you are looking for something to pull hard and strong for a long time, there is no substitute for a Warn. If you need a budget-minded winch that you can feel good about, I wouldn't have any reservations about running a smittybuilt.