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I like to think about the entire optical chain and the cumulative effect that quality has on the entire system.
As a chain it is only as strong as it's weakest link...I think that you should strive for the best quality that you can afford/enjoy in as much of the optical chain as you can. If nothing else, it will hold it's value better than the "budget" offerings.
Concerning your question/comment about the quality of company A versus company B reflector scopes I am not sure that I agree with your statement.
I do not know what (if any) "standard" differences there are in the QC/QA processes and/or tolerances specifications between the brands you have listed. There may very well be but this is unknown to me. I suspect that there is not a material difference. I also suspect that the site of manufacture of the mirrors themselves are likely the same on at least some of the brands you have listed.
I would also speculate (this is just my opinion and without any supporting facts) that even if there was a difference in the "standard" specification and QA/QC programs between the two groups of companies that you listed (and I myself doubt that there is due to efficiences in production) I suspect that most new or "limited experience" observers would not be able to pick out the difference between them.
While I think that this is generally true on the "budget" end, I think that the same holds true on the "premium" end too (but are distinct between the two groups)...
Saying it a different way, I think you get what you pay for...In my opinion, quality of gear falls into "clusters"...concentrated at the budget and premium ends. Unfortunately, the "middle" is fast disappearing...but that is another post...
I say the below with respect to relector scopes only...I am not nearly as confident that the below statements will hold true to other telescope optical designs...
With respect to reflectors, I would expect that all of the brands you listed (assuming properly collimated, cooled and properly set up and less than 12 inches in size) would perform with respect to mirrors and eyepeices generally the same to most users and most people would be hard pressed to pick up any difference between them...
There might be some differences brand to brand in other "build" materials (tubes, focusers etc.) but with respect to mirror performance they would fit in a "normal" and statistically identically place.
As noted above, I believe that it is possible to differentiate between the budget scopes and the premium...
So I think (my opinion) that the mirrors in the brands you have listed would be very similar and hard to differentiate between. There may be some other build/brand features or dealer representation that a particular brand has that has more appeal (tension knobs, fine focuser, crayford focuser, bearings on base versus teflon etc.)
It is a question of degree but, Higher Quality is preferred to Lessor Quality when ever possible...but, anything that gets you out under the stars and looking up is a good thing.
Today even the "budget" end of scopes and accessories are as good or better (and affordable) than anything that was available to hobbyists just a few years ago...it is a golden age for us all.
Just imagine what Messier (or similar) could have done with a 12 inch "budget" scope readily available to us today!
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