I Think it really boils down to how much experience you have with different manufactures. I used to love and still do some of the older AL kits for value for money. I love CC kits for good accuracy. Panart go to great details with their larger scale but require a lot of reading future steps. Occre are good value kits with reasonable instructions. The Chinese kit Alert was great but challenging. I have been lucky so far, apart from the AL Sopwith 9 which builds to a great model,to have kits that have not been a major drama to me.
I have not done any Euromodel, or US Shipways kits, so I cant comment on those.
As to the quality, none of the kits I have used have had BAD quality wood or parts. But that can be subjective dependent on the age of the kit ad how well its been kept. It also depends on how the final wood is supposed to be displayed ( Painted / Unpainted).
As to instructions, I'm sure they are good in their natural language, but bare in mind that translated doc is sometime literal not actual. For us English only folk it can be a challenge to interpret correctly what was really said. ( My wife's Hungarian Australia heritage, and watching a Hungarian movie with subtitles is hilarious to her as she said that's not what they said at all!)
It also depends on who's opinion of good or bad wood or the builders expectations. Most of the time you get what you pay for.
My first kit was an occre beginners kit, Albatros, which I right royaly stuffed up, but learnt a lot. Next was the CC Endeavour ( a Bluff bow), which was a massive step up in compexity and a minor stuffup, but was also joy to do. I then did AL kits, Panart, more Occre and all were great and a challenge. The hardest, but most complex and great quality was the AL Santa Ana due to size and single mahogony planking ( No longer avail I believe). None had missing parts or bad parts. I'm now on the Panart Victory launch and then the Agge or Victory both from CC and that will see me out for the foreseeable future.
A kit is what a kit is, and is subjective to to the buyer sometimes. Mostly we are lucky, 40 years ago kits were nothing like they are now and now we have a huge array to choose from. Kits coming from better Chinese suppliers have a lot more for the price than some of the older kits, BUT have Chinese or translated documentation. Some EU suppliers are no longer sitting on their collective as---ses.
Build what you want to. not what someone tells you.
A kit, paper, plastic or wood, that warms you heart or spirit is always the best kit.
There is an old saying...
I cannot show you the way to success, but I can show you the way to failure, try to please everyone...