I am fortunate to being able to afford top end shimsno, xt as a minimum and sometimers xtr.
I have also had lx and slx and have never gone lower than deore or dx. And you know what, all of it works perfectly. Sure some of it has worn out over time, recent dual pull design of front merch is a bit flakey and quick to wear but all good otherwise.
Only had sram x0 recently and that is good too despite a really low usage rh shifter getti.g sticky - never had that happen with shimano.
I particularly like the two way action on the latest shimano shifters, and xtr cassettes are lighter than x0, the xt is pretty close in weight to x0
In short, shimano xt is my primary choice, sram neednt exist as far as im concerned.