Having went through (some owned, some borrowed):
Samsung GX-1
K100d
Canon Rebel XT
Canon Rebel XSI
Nikon D200
Nikon D300
And having settled on the K100ds...
I can tell that cheap Canons... are damn cheap... Build quality of Rebels is nowhere near Pentax. Ergonomics and interface are horrible, dark viewfinder, lack of SR... PQ is comparable, though I prefer the output of Pentax... Not to mention the glass prices... Good Pentax glass is expensive... but good Ni/Canon VR glass is just freaking expensive!!!
Though I still envy the Nikon 85/1.8 that sells for 300$US on a good day... VS the 77lim that you'd be lucky to snap for 5 bills...
Well and the fact that you're holding something else from Ni/Canon in your hands... that's priceless nowadays!!!