I bought my Taurus Public Defender Poly right after they came out. In fact, when I saw it at a gun show it was the first I had heard of the PD Poly. It has performed perfectly from the very first round with one incident that was 100% ammo related. Accuracy with both 45 Colt, and 410buckshot was beyond surprising. Even with birdshot it has totally disproved the claims of tge haters. It's fit and finish is near identical to that of my only other polymer revolver. That being a Ruger LCR.
The one problem came with some Winchester SuperX birdshot. The primers were backing out enough to lock the cylinder up. At first I thought it might be an issue with the gun. But other loads, from other manufacturers, and even other loads from Winchester all worked flawlessly. In fact, in trying the same exact load fom a different lot, they even worked without problems.
Taurus workmanship if far from "shoddy". To me, my guns are not wall hanging pieces of art, or fine Rolex watch heirlooms. They are functional Timex watches that Taurus quality serves just fine without wasting money on name, reputation, and status.
Yes, I have some of those others. Form Bretta, Colt, S&W, Ruger, Sig, and others, But I have not found any reason to dislike my guns from Taurus. Of Kel-Tec, or even Hi-Point for that matter. Or not buy any more in the future.