Well, let me put it this way. In most of my area, folks have either Verizon DSL or Time Warner Cable available. Most go with Time Warner Cable due to the reasons you mention. No FiOS, and DSL is either horribly unreliable or far too slow / inconsistent to do things on (meaning, 1.3Mbps is the average speed, with 3M max in many parts. The areas that get >3Mbps tend to be good for DSL though!) for what the user wants to do. Almost everyone I talk to about Internet service, states they'll switch to Verizon as soon as they can bring FiOS out. A lot of folks in my area are tired of Time Warner Cable for many reasons.
There is still some hope left if your town hasn't been wired yet, or has been wired somewhat. This is despite the fact that Verizon has stated that FiOS rollouts are no more, and Wireless is going to be the future (as if).
Otherwise, make sure you get a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, and purchase one with Time Warner. Keeps congestion at bay, and Time Warner's silly $5-7 modem rental fee away.