I had all seasons on my last vehicle (Mazdaspeed 6) which was all wheel drive and Floyd is on point, they do not help much with control and were mediocre in just about all conditions. My current car is RWD now and I am happy I went with snows. I'm looking at a set of winter wheels currently and it will be great to have both sets ready for the changing of the seasons.
The main difference is in having a RWD car, the acceleration will never be what it could be in an AWD car in the snow but, as Floyd said, the cornering and braking will be unmatched vs an all season. The way our cars operate- instead of 2 wheels getting power when in low traction situations (like in a truck) or under heavy acceleration, only one wheel gets the power, this is due to our cars having an open differential that lets the torque go to the path of least resistance (ie the inside rear wheel when cornering). This makes snows essential in an area that gets lots of it.
At the end of the day, with RWD, it's worth every penny.
Hope this helps...
