Hi Eardrum, Welcome.
If you were to consider a Dob, as a 12" dob owner I would recommend the GS brand as they are very very good for their price!
But as far as SCT's go, I have scoured the web for info on different brands and models.
After months of searching and reading, the consensus between the 2 popular brands seems to be that Celestron has the edge on optics but Meade has the edge on GoTo's and Motors.
Where Celestron falls down slightly is in occasional tracking errors with it's GoTo system and the Motors.
So it's really a draw between the two of them!
I guess the best solution is to put a Celestron on a Meade Mount. You can buy them seperately these days.