Abacus, what is your driving style (truthfully)?
I drive on Maine roads almost all of the time, with an occasional trip to the White Mountains in NH. The roads are rural roads, but I am in 5th gear most of the time, so they are not city roads by any stretch. I drive conservatively, usually staying within 5-10 mph of the speed limit, and I have never had a speeding ticket in my 27 years of driving (knocking on wood here). That doesn't mean I don't like a spirited romp through the twistys, but my car does have a lot of miles on it and it's the only one I have (currently), so I need to make it last. On the TireRack website, there is no selection for "rural" roads, only highway and city, and my style of driving most parallels the highway selection.
I don't drag race or hole-shot my car, and it has never put down a stretch of rubber. I have had the tires howling on more than one occasion in corners, but have never lost control of the car or pushed it beyond its limits. I don't slow down for corners much and instead enjoy the lateral feeling while letting the car and suspension work.
So I definitely drive more spirited than the average middle-aged guy with a Toyota, but a lot less than a teenager who thinks he's invincible.
I gave the tires an honest shot, and 300+ miles is more than enough to see how they'll work given the roads up here. I really had high hopes for them based on the reviews, but they were just that horrible.
Maybe in other sizes they are OK, I bought 225/50/16's. I did notice a difference between tires when I went from 205/45/16 General Exclaims to 205/50/16 G-E's, the larger tires had more give to them in the corners, but were definitely the right size for the car, with the 45's being way too small, and the 50's still hold the road great, they're just not as glued as the 45's. The 225 Conti's still had a lot of room in the wheelwell, so fit was not an issue on the car and they never rubbed in the front, only in the rear and only on corners.