Agree on the silicone blades! I've tried every manner of blades, and the silicone ones from PIAA are amazing. Going on a couple years with them and still flawless. When you clean your windshield, run the wipers for a couple minutes after the glass has dried and it reapplies it's silicone goodness all over you windshield again.
I haven't had too many issues with their winter performance either so long as your windshield is scraped of snow and ice before you take off. During storms in the mountains they handle everything pretty well.