lol, I had to read the whole thread to see if I had weighed in. I am a Hankook ATM fan, over 10 sets. I always try to get 10 ply, but some sizes it is difficult, couldn't get them for 20" wheels. I just got a set for about 650, shipped from summit, they matched a competitor. It took a bit of "paperwork" but I am satisfied. Some tire shops bristle at bringing in tires, one told me I needed upper ball joints, lower ball joints, idler, and pitman replaced. I waited 6 months, as I could find no issues, and had them show me the issue before I scheduled the repair. Their best mechanic could find no issues.
I educated myself on the "10 ply" issue, apparently when tires were first produced like in 1910, the construction was plys of cotton. Thus 10 plys, modern tires don't actually have 10 plys, just 4 plys, but somehow put the designation of ply on their as the whole letter thing is suffering the same fate as the metric system.
My experience with Hankook ATM Dyna 10 ply are, getting louder around 30K, replace at 40K-45K if you are a worrier, have gotten 70K but I was pushing it so my new tires go on in October.
I don't have a bunch of experience with other tires, did some Toyos a few years ago and hated them, had Wranglers way back in the day and liked them, but snow was my primary opponent.
Curious if anyone runs the "balance beads" for balancing purposes, I do in my work vehicle so I can rotate on my own and not 3rd party expense. I think they work best on bigger tires. I am a big believer in rotating and shock replacement.