Hmmm... IMHO, the part extraction aspect of Finale leaves a LOT to be desired. I do a lot of pit band parts (musicals etc) and have many problems, particularly in the area of layouts. I would also say that the editing of individual parts in Finale was awful (they call it Special Part Extraction. Reminds me of the hotels that call themselves "Quality Hotel" or similar. The more appealing the name, the worse it normally is).
I'm not a great fan of Sibelius but I must say that it handles individual parts substantially better than Finale does. In Finale, such things as enforced new lines, page breaks and so on are cludgey and unfriendly. Spacing is a problem and I even have a problem with the new slurs (great improvement when you can control them but when you extract parts, they can go bonkers.
Back to your question, Jim. Is it worth it? Well I'd rather have a manky system that I understood and could work around than none at all. Don't know wnough about Allegro or Print Music but don't think that Finale is any great shakes in this area.
I'm very happy to debate these topics with any combatants out there :o)
Pete
