Now I wish I had a map of who sells what under what brand, so I can see how they're all related, and who (if anyone) doesn't play these games.

The brand of the equipment is a really small factor in the overall performance of the system. How each component performs is heavily dependent on specific environmental factors.

For example, noise of a single stage condenser might be justifiable from a maintenance standpoint if the unit is placed thoughtfully. Inverter units look fantastic on paper but they're a nightmare to work on in the field.

The insulation in your home should be the top focus if you are concerned with HVAC performance. It doesn't matter how many tons of cooling you have or how efficient and quiet it is if this isn't taken care of.

I've seen the dramatic difference in insulation performance during Texas summers. I thought the system on my current house was undersized by a few tons until I actually tried it out. I had a 5-ton system that struggled to hold a house at 78F running non-stop. Now, I have a 3-ton system that can hold 68F and still cycles off during the day. Both homes approximately the same size and within a few miles of each other.

I got a replacement battery for my truck , and was sent to a large warehouse, and beside the shippers desk was a huge cubby hole rack with dozens of different stickers to go on the batteries, but of course there are mire than 1 such warehouses, and also actualname branded manufacturers with there own retail, and to make the point of wierdness, there is also a local battery manufacturer that does not sell to the retail market here and ships most of there mostly industrial products into the world market. Then there are refrigerators, and well every other domestic item. The whole monsterouse edifice serving to validate peoples choices and descision making prowess. I buy used as much as possible, or hand made. And I will at some point incorporate a heat pump into my house, it will be a ground source pump to hot water for heat and domestic use, powered from an off grid solar array, no fans.....no screen, just a couple of set points on the units, the whole thing just back up in a passive solar house, so , any failure is just a minor discomfort. The actual pumps themselves are truely wonders of precision engineering and manufacturing.....get a good one.

If you want insight into this, look at any website dedicated to selling parts.

Especially for appliances, it reveals manufacturers.