First, there is no perfect product. Forums tend to focus on product negatives because they are where people go to seek help. So you can't judge products solely by the amount of negative forum posts.
The SNBForums audience is very skewed toward ASUS since we host discussions on RMerlin and others' firmware and ASUS router add-ons. So if you are looking for input from a broad range of product fans, you're unlikely to get it here.
@L&LD's response will be typical.
ASUS Wi-Fi routers have the broadest feature set you'll find and they are decent performers. They expose more controls than any other manufacturer. Far more than the average user knows how to deal with, IMO. But if your idea of a good time is constantly experimenting with your router's settings, you like lots of knobs and switches to play with and want the ability to add features, ASUS is the one for you.
That said, NETGEAR hasn't gotten to be the market share leader by making bad product. Yes, they have had wider bricks-and-mortar retail distribution to help them get there, but, again, the products have to work.
Linksys (now owned by Foxconn) used to own the consumer networking market. But when the founders cashed out and sold to Belkin, they lost steam. And since the sale to Foxconn, new products have been few and far between.
TP-Link made a big push a few years back to try to move up a tier or two in the U.S. market. That effort failed, or at least its Taiwanese owners thought it did, because they stopped it, laid most of the U.S. staff off and circled the wagons back at HQ. That said, their Wi-Fi gear isn't the best and it's not the worst. Main weaknesses are limited feature set, outdated UI and very infrequent (if ever) firmware updates. If you're looking for good value in a switch, however, I highly recommend TP-Link.
