I have not noticed any battery issues with ADW Launcher EX, or Go Launcher, and I don't remember any with Launcher Pro. As for force closes, I've had issues with all 3. It mostly has to do with an app or two that is malfunctioning, find that, and you generally solve your problem. To boot, I've had ADW Launcher as my default Launcher since December, and have experiences a total of 1 force close. I tried Go Launcher this past week, and although it is a very nice launcher, and has tons of unique features, I did experience 2 force closes while trying it. I'm not sure if it was just me over burdening my Droid X (I was also trying new live wallpapers, games, etc). I'll probably give it a go again, but for now I'm sticking with ADW Launcher.
As for pros-cons, here are a few:
ADW Launcher EX ($) [ADW Launcher free]
It's open source and is pretty light on extras. It has no social widgets, and it is fast, and extremely customizable (applies more to the paid version, since that is what I have been using lately). Some people consider the lack of social widgets a Con, many others consider that a Pro, since it means it has a lighter footprint that Launcher Pro. Ultimately, it depends on your preferences. ADW has a hidden dock where you can place folders, and apps for easy retrieval. I find that very intuitive, swipe up to reveal and click on app, folder you need. You can change the dock picture for both the main and hidden docks, so customizability is a plus. It also has a lot of themes which you can download from the android market and apply easily. ADW also has about 9 screen transtitions which go for the wow factor, and 4 different app drawer transitions for the same effect. Like our default launcher you can also have up to 7 screens, but, you can also choose to have 1, or 3, or however many you want between 1-7. ADW launcher, like Go and Launcher Pro also allows you to change the icons to whatever you prefer. You can also resize the Grid on each home page to allow you to have 5 icons in 5 rows, or more, depending on how busy you like your homescreens.
Go Launcher EX (free)
Also has no widgets, and is very light, and fast. It comes with its own unique app drawer, which also doubles as a app history and task killer. I generally recommend staying away from task killers, especially as a newbie, since unless you configure them properly you are more likely to do more harm to your system than not. Besides, Android 2.2 comes with its own task manager, and it is pretty good. Also, Android was made to handle various tasks in the background so you don't have to worry about managing them yourself. Like ADW, Go Launcher also has screen transitions, and themes you can download from the market. One nifty feature that Go Launcher has, that ADW lacks (I don't know if Launcher Pro has it) is that when you drag apps to a folder, it generates iphone like thumbnails displaying the first 4 apps placed in there, which is aesthetically pleasing and helpful when organizing your apps and screens. Go also allows you to resize the grid to fit as more icons per page, but is limited to 5 vertical rows x 5 horizontal rows. It also has a scrolling doick, not a hidden one like ADW Launcher, and more like Launcher Pro.
Launcher Pro Plus ($) [Launcher Pro free]
Many people like this one due to its social widgets (the paid version), and unread count widgets. These widgets include a news, people, calendar, twitter and facebook. That is its main selling point. It is also highly customizable like both ADW Launcher and Go Launcher above. You can resize the grid on your screen to fit more icons, change icon images, add screen transitions, change the dock image. It also has a scrolling dock like Go Launcher, where you can scroll either left or right to access apps you've placed there. It also has swipe features, where if you swipe on a dock icon, you can select which of 2 apps to launch. I don't think Go Launcher has that, so that's a difference.
Well, hopefully my mini review isn't too convoluted. Ultimately, the best way to see which one you like better is to try them for yourself. They all come with back up features so that once you are done customizing, you can back up your settings so that if you uninstall and try a different launcher, and then come back to the first, you can just restore your configuration, except for widgets, but that's a minor hassle. I never tried DxTop, but from what I have gathered in my time trying these launchers, DxTop used to be one of the top launchers but has been Eclipsed by ADW, Launcher Pro and Go Launcher.
FYI: For ADW and Go Launcher, if you want some widgets with the same functionality as launcher Pro, you can try Colorize Widgets (for Facebook, Twitter) and Scrolling News Widget (for news). There are others, I just have to find the page where they are all listed.
Update: Here's a link to Xda-developers listing all the various scrollable widgets that can be used for these launchers.
Also, I created an icon for my games folder. It looks like the picture attached in this post. I did this back when I was using Simi Folder Widget, but now use it on my regular folders on ADW Launcher. Go Launcher creates such an icon automatically, as you place apps in folders which is a nice feature.
