I'm looking for the better handling tire, although I live in the northwest with lots of rain and potential for hydroplanning. Based on this thread I'm leaning to the kooks.
You are right on your observations. Many have posted Hankook RH06 Ventus have been very good tires in terms of wet, dry and even snow traction. Tires are suprisingly soft and last very long. Throw in being a very cost competitive tire, hard to beat.
They are also not hard to balance.
If you look at the thread design of the Ventus, the grooves are large, if not the largest. There are big channels for water to escape, helping with resisting hydroplaning. The thread depth is one of the deepest when new.
That being said, these tires will feel like you are on rails in the rain from personal experience.
I ran 265/50/20 on OEM wheels and 265/40/22 on aftermarket 22" wheels. I currently run goodyear's as I got a great price on them and they are longer tire wear (500 vs 420).
My winter set up is a Hankook iPike winter tire 265/50/20.
Just make sure you find a place that has a Hunter Roadforce balancer. Tell them, "Get as close to Zero on your reading as the FX is very sensitive to vibrations. Also, put the lowest numbers on the front."
Basically the lower the number, the more balanced it is.