If you add this option, then the two laptops you're comparing may be closer in terms of price and support. Then it's just about the other factors you mention.
They send a technician (with an enormous backpack full of dell parts) to your location within 24 hours. The tech will work on it on-site until repaired.
I do not believe there could be a less disruptive, quicker way to repair a laptop.
Not sure if they offer that same level of support to consumers, but if they do, know it blows AppleCare out of the water.
I spilled noxious bong water in my keyboard, and the Dell technician who came to my house correctly diagnosed what the problem was, cheerfully replaced my keyboard, and helpfully offered to come back tomorrow with a replacement for a broken plastic part I hadn't even noticed.
Compare that to the way Apple refuses to "handle hazardous substances". [1]
[1] http://www.alphr.com/news/353512/apple-refuses-to-repair-smo...
I had to argue just to get them to cover one way of shipping, and even then they required me to physically take the machine to a UPS drop off. I lived in a major urban area at the time and owned no car, and would have required an expensive taxi ride to drop it off at their requested location, and of course they weren't willing to reimburse me for that taxi ride.
I was furious and they simply offered no reasonable way for me to get it repaired. They lost a customer and I'll happily switch back to Dell.