I'm not a reel expert but my 2 cents would be the internals are probably where you are gonna see the quality difference. Its kinda like how bearings became the ultimate scam. Many reels would offer you double digits bearings but a good budget shimano or daiwa reel would still feel smoother. You gotta remember that new reels no matter what brand all feel nice but its the longevity test that matters to some. Many things plays in what makes a great reel for a person. Longevity smoothness not initial, drag smoothness, years of use, and the list goes on the pickier you get. If your a simple fisherman then yeah any brand is good. I myself had both reels and they perform great for your standard bass fishing and walleye. However when salmon came into play pfluegers straight out failed. My fuego is 5 years straight of fishing for salmon with other species with no maintenance and I can confidently go next season with it.
I've worked a couple years at a bait shop as well. The number 1 selling reel we had were those pfluegers because they were cheap and good when they were 50.00. They were number 1 in the category for returns and issues also though. The plastic part that connects the bail to the reel is SUPER fragile. Cannot tell you how many reel demos broke due to poor handling because I lost count. They also did not maintain their smoothness for long and became geary+loud especially if you were brutal on them which a majority of people are due to lack of knowledge.