I got the front blower for my GC --yes, it's expensive-- but never looked back. It works very well, I have no snowpiles to try to see around, and, occasionally, if I need the FEL, it's not that hard to remove the blower and put the FEL back on. (The blower's attachment sub-frame & driveshaft extension can stay in place while using the FEL, though they don't take much time to remove, either.)
My drive is about 200' long and uphill, and I also didn't want to face rearward. For really tight places alongside house and garage, I either shovel by hand --really doesn't take that long to kick it back 2-3 feet-- or use my ol' walk-behind blower. I haven't felt the need to use the FEL but once or twice a winter, the blower works so well. I also believe the blower's also a heck of a lot more efficient that the FEL at getting snow out of the way.
There are many who swear by the front blower/rear blade set-up, or the rear blower/front blade or FEL configuration, but I've been very happy with the front blower.
BTW-- $3000 for a M-F 2360 blower is very good; mine was $3900 (installed) when I bought the tractor a year ago.