Four Touring 17" tire options?

Stopped by my local Costco today to see what options might be available for the Four Touring with the fairly unusual 215/45/R17 tire size. They could only pull up two options on the computer in their regional inventory that wouldn't be a longer-wait special order:

Michelin Premier AS (V speed rated 60,000 mile warrantee) for $160 each
Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 (V speed rated 70,000 mile warrantee) for $149 each

Costco rotates $70 off coupons between Michelin and Bridgestone so I can save a few $$ on either one depending on which month I buy.

The tire guy said he thought the Bridgestone would be slightly harder rubber and lower rolling resistance but the Michelin would be slightly superior on wet roads and braking. I'm in the Northwest with a 23 mile freeway commute so lots of wet freeway driving. He said if it was his car he'd probably put on the Michelins for better wet pavement performance despite the possible slight hit on gas mileage.

The Michelin is considerably higher rated on TireRack also for what that's worth. Especially for wet pavement and snow which we also see occasionally. So I'm definitely leaning that way.

Opinions? Any other options I should look at? I've also got Discount Tire and Les Schwaub tire stores a few minutes away so other options as well but I haven't shopped them yet. In the past I've generally just put Michelin Defenders from Costco on my other cars and have called it good.

 

Stopped by a different Costco on my way home and the tire guys there suggested either the Michelin Premier or what they said was a cheaper new option, the BF Goodrich Advantage T/A Sport which they said would be similar to the Premier. Apparently it is a new tire that they are getting good feedback on. Although I'm likely to stick with the Premier.

 

Well I bought the Premiers and had them installed Saturday. So far I like them. They are noticibly quieter than the OEM Yokohamas and feel more supple and responsive when driving. Little bumps are not so noticable and rough freeway pavement is substantially quieter.

After two days of freeway commuting (60 miles per day) it appears that I took a 1-2 mpg hit, dropping from about 53 mpg to about 51 mpg but difficult to say for certain because the daily mileage bounces around anyway.

Only smooth dry pavement so far so I haven't had them in the rain yet. But, other than the slight hit to mileage I like them and am happy with the purchase. Definitely makes the car feel less tinny and more like a higher end sedan.