I often find myself wondering at the stupidity of a majority of computer "users" (heh) running a hi-fi antivirus (Kaspersky, Norton, TrendMicro) and having some die-hard malware or witnessing a serious drop in system performance. I for myself use Windows Defender (MSE before 8.x) and have never seen a single bad program get into my computer. Reason? Common sense. I visit several sites I "shouldn't" according to Kaspersky(go figure) and after using KIS for a year I uninstalled. My system speed shot up; the infection level, however, went up 0% from 0. Bottom line? Use any AV (but better use one just in case). Just be a little careful and sensible while browsing the internet or connecting external devices.
I get a little chuckle (no offense) every time someone makes one of these posts. They are obviously fixed, you can go to 10 different rating sites and get 10 different results, and even better yet, I do not think ANY ONE of them can block or remove the hottest malware on the web at the moment being ransom ware or cryptographic malware, so really what good are any of them? Hitman Pro and Hitman Pro Alert are probably one of the hottest downloads going at the moment because they are one of the few who DO block and remove those that I mentioned above. I really do not pay attention to those tests. I use common sense, I use the AV software I am comfortable with and I have used every single one of the antivirus' listed on those tests at one time or another and never had a problem with any of them, the only Antivirus that I have used and got caught with my pants down with is Microsoft Security Essentials, I'll never use it again.