1. I'm on my 8th skimmer. So yes i've had a little experience with them.
Tank looking and doing so much better by far and reliabilty has been
awesome since skimmer number 7 and 8. Hmmmm...both BubbleKing
I would step away from it. 8th skimmer is a lot 
2. Are you suggesting that AI products are low end? I see way more defects
with Radions than anything else. I have not tried them so really I have no
right to comment on them cause i've never tried them just like you.
Well in terms of "you get what you pay for", AI is definitely on the low end. Its perfectly priced (atleast to me). And yes, we all have heard about radions having more defect. There you go...you don't always get what you pay for. 
3. I have 5 Vortech pumps and will not be using them on my new build cause
they will not suit my needs.My comment on them is that they are noisy
and I have had reliability issues with them and have had 3 replaced on
warranty. But I do think they are the best powerhead out there with all
the bells and whistles they have. I have traded them off on Tunzes that I
yet to try. So no comment on them.
You have made your choice that you dont want vortech in your new build. Now someone comes forth and say hey don't waste your money on something else...you get what you pay for.....how would you defend? I believe you will say it doesn't suit you...that's it...its not about "how much you are paying for something" but its about "what suits you". If wps suit someone, he/she should use it without getting bashed/having a debate that he/she should spend more.
4. No you dont need expensive lights or reflectors to grow corals. Where you
came up with this I dunno. I ran CoralLife MH fixture for years.
I go through a lot of googling and end up in various sites (r2r, rc, etc.) and there are lots of thread such topics. Like when I was planning to buy odyssea, I could see lots of people (in other forums obviously; by no mean any of my pointers are to this forum only; infact most are to other forums) saying those are crappy fixtures, will burn down houses and are good for FOWLR tanks and things like that.
You proved nothing on LEDs to me. I changed my MH bulbs every 8-10 months and my 4 T5s every 6-8 months. I'm not about to do the math but it's been over 2 years and i'm pretty sure once I wear these LED fixtures out i'll be ahead of the game. I dont have a disco ball effect at all. I've only seen it once on this site with Vegas and several times with DIY setups. As for heat issues in the summer, this has helped tremendously and having that piece of mind knowing my tank is'nt boiling is good for me.
I see it on this site and as well as others. Most of the time the people that like to bash the more expensive pieces of equipment have never really owned them. I don't get it. So back to "Dont Knock It Till You Try It"
Raied i'm not trying to be ignorant i'm just answering your questions for me. By no means are these fighting words.
As someone else already said "if it works for you than great"
No need to be a hater.
You will definitely be ahead in the game because you are using AI which is priced right. If you were using radion or mitras, you wouldn't be saying that 
Just like people people like to bash expensive stuffs; there are people out there who like to bash non-expensive stuffs thinking they are just pieces made out of crap.