Was reading the thread and see a lot of tire options but seems like the Pirelli Sottozero 3's have fallen out of favor a bit in the recommendations.
Just want to throw those out there again for the people looking for a performance winter tire. I just ordered my second set after three seasons of many ski trips and drives over the passes here in the Northwest - IE snow, ice, slush, wet snow, dry snow, deep snow, thin snow and everything in between.
The Pirellis have had great traction in all of the above but retain plenty of dry/wet grip/handling - the steering response is better than my old Conti DW's in fact. W/ Subaru AWD and low weight/CG in these cars I don't see any reason to go with a more aggressive snow tire unless you live above the snow line or in a place that sees regular freezing rain etc.
They stand up to a bit of hard driving as well but be aware that with the soft compound you risk damaging/smearing the siping if you really push it regularly (especially in warmer temps) - as is the case with all winter tires.