We are a tire dealer here, and I have seen a LOT of different tires over the years on a LOT of different cars. What is good or bad often depends on what it is going on (I do not know what an excursion van is, if you could tell me, maybe I can give a better opinion).
There is generally no tire that is "perfect" in every sense. Longevity means a harder compound, which means poorer traction especially when wet, and louder road noise.
Michelin, as a brand, is probably the best overall for quality. They are round, and stay that way. Their lesser brands, BF Goodrich and Uniroyal, are hit and miss, and often are dependent on the application as well as the point of manufacture.
Goodyear is probably the worst of the big brands. They also are Kelly-Springfield, Dunlop, Cordovan, and a whole bunch of no-name garbage like Wal-mart level crap.
Bridgestone-Firestone, who also has the cheap line Fuzion, has some good, some bad, and some downright awful models.
Continental-General is usually decent enough, but I'd say it depends a lot on application and model.
I know some people like them, but Nokian from what I have seen have never shown me to be anything exceptional, at least for non-winter tires.
The Korean brands are garbage. Nexen, Kumho, Hankook, these have some of THE worst QC in the aftermarket I have ever seen, even worse than their cheap price would suggest. You may as well get some no-name house label Chinapop tire if that is all you want (and lots of people do, they place CHEAP at the very top of the buy criteria).
As far as the Michelin Premier vs. Defender: they are very different tires. The Premier focuses on quiet, smooth ride, relatively decent traction, whereas the Defender pretty much sacrifices everything for longevity. I have had both, and while the Defender will certainly last longer, its performance is no match for the Premier, wet or dry. And they are absolutely louder. But, they are Michelins, so they are true and easy to balance and stay balanced. They are not available in every speed range though.
As for winter driving, there is no "all season" tire that is as good in snow and ice as a true winter tire. It isn't just the tread design, but the rubber compound as well. But some all season tires will certainly be better than others, they'll be the ones that lose some of their not-winter strengths to do so.
On my cars right now:
Both my B5 Passats have Michelin Premier, and will return to these when replacement time comes (or whatever model Michelin may replace these with).
My one Golf has Continental Contipro Contact. While I have no issue with handling or treadwear, they flat spot if the car sits for a few days, and it takes ~10 miles of higher speed driving to get them round again. Worse in the cold. I will be going back to the Premiers when these wear out.
The other Golf has the Defenders. They will also be replaced with Premiers. Yes, they wear like iron, they also feel and sound like it.
My Sprinter has Continental Vanco tires, which replaced the OEM Kumho tires that I took off when it was brand new. It was virtually undriveable. 3 of the 4 tires were shaped like ostrich eggs. I will probably replace these Vancos due to age before I ever wear them out. They are a little noisy at speed, but not awful, and I really do not have anything to compare them to. They were about $200 cheaper for the set than the Michelins, otherwise I may have gone with the LTX MS.
My F150 has General Grabber AT, and have been fine so far, no complaints. I do not drive the truck often, and never in snow, but they seem satisfactory in any and all conditions in which I have used them.
I have a set of snows for a Golf and a Passat, Goodyear Wintermax and General Altimax Arctic, respectively. Cannot give a good comparison, as the Passat is bigger, heavier, and AWD, so... but the Golf with the Wintermax tires in snow feels pretty secure.