Thanks for your replies.

I keep a record of all the tires I've used on my E46. In order:

(1) OEM Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus (40,840 miles)

(2) Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S (50,955 mostly highway miles)

(3) Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (28,538 miles)

(4) Yokohama YK580 (currently with 30,806 miles)

Right now, I'm leaning towards the Michelin A/S 3+. However, I've never ran BFG all-seasons on my cars before, and am curious how they'll perform. They seem to rate high on Tire Rack's rankings.

(BTW, the BFG All-Terrains on my truck has impressed me so....)

Not unduly so, but the ride is firm - these are low profile tires, so I think that pretty much any tire would ride pretty firm.

Harsh is relative. The A/S3+ has a relatively summery sidewall. It's not as stiff as, say, a PSS, but it is a LOT stiffer than, say, the DWS.

The DWS and its predecessors (as well as its cousin, the DW) all have soft sidewalls.

Cost always matters, but disregarding for a sec, the best two tires in Lou's list are the Michelin's and the B-stones (they will be monsters in the wet), we ran them on Cara's Si for (the 960AS). Currently have the 97AS in the 2015 GTI and those are good too...

BFG's make good truck tires. I'm not sure about their sporty offerings. The tread pattern always looks loud on them, but don't have much experience.

I used to like P-zero nero a/s way back when (about 2006 or 2007). Smooth when new. I'm so unhappy with the lack of grip and quick breakaway of the summer P-zero's on my boxster that Pirelli may never see a dollar from me again (at least for cars). Sure apples & oranges. But.. Similarly aged MPSS on my m3 have grip, while the P-zero N0 porsche tires are shite.