What do you call cheap? ESC's that are difficult to control? Lacking fine control, making the machine unsteerable? Or blowing up every fight some demand is placed upon them?

A good ESC is something you don't have to replace after 2 fights (unless you did it wrong).
Our Sidewinders survived years of abuse in Hannibal( fried 1 there, lack of current limiting on 1 channel, later rectified by Robot Power) Mantis, Obsidian, kan-Opener and Bullfrog.