I purchased my first AT boot last year - Dynastar Radical. On the beefy side of dedicated AT boots, I guess, but I'm very impressed. I can't imagine spending all day and/or doing to many laps in the "cross-over" category with just the walk mode. I love how the Radical's buckles extend and how much flex and rotation I get in the cuff.
Side note: what do you call the category of 4 buckle alpine boots with tech binding pins? The Cochise, Lange XT, etc
From what I have recently learned you can break down the new boots like this:
Alpine boots with walk mode, no pins: all major mfg's make a model in this catagory
Essentially alpine boots with walk mode and pins: Chochise, Lange XT free, ...... these don't have the greatest ROM and some friction on the uphill
Light alpine boots / Heavy AT boots with walk mode and pins: Dynafit Radical, Atomic Hawx XTD, Salomon Slab/Mtn, Technical Zero G Tour Pro ..... the weight varys some on these, but they do it all to varying degrees, and are mostly pretty new to the market. I tried on the Hawx and Slab/Mtn and they were friction free once in tour mode.
Light AT boots: Dynafits, Scarpa, lots of names I don't know. These are super on the up, friction free, huge ROM, hikable sole, but they loose a lot on the down to varying degrees. If you are a "backcountry skier" you will be in this catagory. If you want to use them in the resort and ski like an Alpine set up, you need to bump up a catagory or really slow down.
I don't know what catagory above would be labeled "cross over", maybe the almost alpine boot with walk mode and pins? or the next one down. The middle two are getting blurry with the new gear coming out.