to IIS, Rusty!
1) There are no more expensive and cheaper Dobs. They are all either Synta (Skywatcher, Saxon, Celestron) or GSO (Meade, Bintel, Orion?). They are good scopes.
2) I like the Saxon or Skywatcher 10" the most. The friction lock on the alt bearings is very handy and the white enamel finish on the tube is probably more durable than the single grey/silver layer of paint on most GSO tubes. Optically I don't know how they compare when pushed to their limits. I guess they would be similar. I don't think you can go wrong with either scope (GSO or Synta).