As I've said elsewhere I think that the VMC is an excellent machine but unless you plan to use it on a specific type of job that fits within it's range, you will probably find the table travel is a limitation. The problem is that once you have a milling machine, like a lathe, you tend to find no end of jobs you would like to do on it. The reduced table travel will limit the jobs you can undertake and the scales you can work with.
The question of rigidity is, as Keith says, important. Having not used a VMC I can't comment but I can say that I have never been conscious of any lack of rigidity on my Super Major (in essence a GH Universal without the swivel table but with power feeds) even when used near it's limits.
Having spent months agonizing over the decision myself, I can say that there is no perfect solution (unless you have an unlimited budget - even then you'd probably choose to buy several machines) but I think the key is to find the machine that offers the most flexibility so that you do not unduly limit your future options. In term of priorities for general use (and sticking my neck out here!) I suggest:
1) Size/weight to suit available space, - It must fit, you must be able to get it there and it must not fall through the floor!
2) Dovetailed column (for either head or table) - round columns loose their alignment as soon as the head needs to be moved.
3) Table
/ Head / quill travel,
4) Rigidity - within reason this is not an serious problem, most machines will do what is required of them assuming they're not in a production environment (and they're not knackered).
5) Spindle speeds - again, not a major issue unless used in a production environment, although not being able to run below say 150 rpm may be a problem for boring / face cutting.
I guess that build quality fits into the sequence somewhere but my brain is too addled to decide where!.
I'm sure that others will disagree with my priorities but you have to decide which fit your requirements best - flexibility is the key!
Mark
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