[Lurkasaurus Rex]

The point made above that you're buying WINTER tires, not SNOW tires is worth repeating. Also, all season tires are ALWAYS a compromise. They never grip or perform better than a set of seasonal tires. Winter tires in the cold, summer tires in the heat.
The Michelin all seasons are terrible. Even the XGT's that came on my '99 Integra from the factory were shit, so I knew these would be as well. Mine made the 1,000 mile break in before they got swapped for winter tires, and I have a set of Conti EC/DW and new wheels waiting here for when the snow is gone and the temps come back up. Which means, yes, I have a set of stock tires sitting here that I should just sell to a drifter. (A person that drives drift events, not a hobo.)

I just went to the General Altimax Arctic for the winter. While I notice quite a bit of tread squirm, the grip is great in the cold, and they're not expensive. Also, this car and winter tires make for a nice package. It's very predictable and a lot of fun. Sure, the uphill grip isn't the best from a standing stop on a slick surface, but that's just been giving me an excuse to find the long way around stuff. I find myself looking for roads that have a couple inches of snow left on them so I can practice my car control at a leisurely 15mph.