In reality, most people are abke to have different summer and winter tires. For those people, go all out. As, safety is most important. However, there are solutions for those that aren't able to have different sets of wheels. As an example, the Nexen N3000 tires are great for traction when heated up (in terms of performance), but still good without an intentional heat-up. They are also decent in the snow, and won't break in sub-40*F weather.

That's a personal review for you!