Every installer has a connection/account with any certain brand that they try to push..All the companies have different levels of mechanicals from old discontinued stuff of yesteryear at discount prices to the latest greatest quietest units that have lots of bling...what you want is a unit that is going to meet your requirements and a warranty package to back it up ( 10 years is good)...most installers will give you a one year waranty on workmanship...the mechanical manufacturers warranty is a seperate issue...you need to do your homework and price comparisons from each of the companies for the unit your installer referred...make sure you are pricing apples to apples eg two stage soft sound from Payne to Keeprite Tappan Lennox etc and weigh the warranties each supplier is offering on the units to their respective price
same goes for your compressor- seer to seer
I dont know too much about Payne but i have used Trane Carrier Keeprite Tappan and Lennox in my houses not because any given company is better or worse...but because the warranties seem to fluctuate from time to time...Lennox is way over priced in my area so i no longer use them Keeprite and Tappan are what i use the most of...Im sure some heating/cooling guys will pipe in sooner or later...there are a few on the board
Cheers
Good Luck