I agree a great post by the original poster. Much my experience. I started with SPD and used eggbeaters for the 4 position entry. I liked them ok at first but two things happened that I gave up on them and tried SPD-SL. The eggbeaters only lasted about a year the the bearings or axel of the pedal would go bad. You can buy replacements but just about a cheap to buy new pedals. The only thing good about them looking back was the 4 sided entry was very easy to clip in.
Then I went to Shimano 105 about 6 years ago and guess what? I still am riding on the same pedals with zero maintenance. The cleats do wear but they can be changed and last me a long time. Walking in them is fine for short stuff and I don't stop and go in places or even stop to eat at a restaurant. So first great thing is they last and are way better value. The second reason and the most important is I feel much better with the wide base of support and I don't like much float. If the eggbeaters got wet from rain they would slide a bit on the pedals. I could not take that at all. The SPD-SL s just feel much more secure. The only real downside is not as easy to clip in even all the riding I do I have to make sure with purpose as I clip in. Once in the feeling of the cranks and pedals way offsets the issue related to clipping in fast.