i have narrowed my next tire purchase down to two brands as listed in this thread's title. either way i go i am going a size up to 285 75 16 but i dont know which brand to get, any suggestions, advice, or personal experience stories would be appreciated!

My personal experience:

I had some model Nitto's on a previous 2003 LX470, hated them and replaced with Michelin LTX's before they were halfway through their life. I now have a second LX470 (2006) with brand new Dunlops, hate them. I am seriously considering replacing with Michelin's again. The biggest difference is consistent vibrationless ride quality.

yes but keep in mind you were using 18inch wheels, no? (i believe the 2003's had 18's or were they still usin 16's?) which is prolly why your truck only rode well with michelins. if i had 18s i wouldnt use anything but michelins. i have LTXs on my 99 now, which has 16inch wheels, but they're bout shot and if i dont put bigger wheels, i am puttin bigger tires. i have heard the BFG's last a bit longer but performance is the same and the terra grapplers are way more quiet than the BFG keepin in mind they are a/t tires and not the smooth rolling, soft tread michelins

My 2003 had 18" wheels. I only have experience with the Nitto's I had on my 2003 and the Dunlop's I have on my 2006. I noticed a huge improvement when I switched from the Nitto's to Michelin's. I used to do a fair amount of off-roading years ago, in that case I would do what you are thinking about. My current mission is 95% pavement, 3% trailer launching, and 2% driving in the snow. So I need quietness. I'm sorry I don't have any personal experience with the BFG's. The Michelin's typically last a long time due to their apparent hard-rubber compound. When I lived in Wisconsin, Michelin's were the worst tires in snow for some reason.