Being perpetually lazy and thrifty, I've always preferred using all-seasons year-round and if possible, try to avoid travelling in ice or heavy snow.

Just moved from an AWD sedan with Continental DWS (dry-wet-snow) all-seasons, which worked really well for me, to a 2WD/4WD truck with severe snow-rated Bridgestone KO2 all-terrain all-season tires. Think I'll be better off in heavy snow now, but I'll still probably need to go slower after losing AWD. People are free to pass me if they're using a better solution.