I used 4DOS for many years, then 4NT, then TCC/LE, and for the last several years, the full blown TCC/TCMD. Which is not free, so doesn't fit in this discussion I'm afraid. TCC/LE is still available, and completely free and contains most of what's in the commercial product.
Don't confuse the order. Look at the dates. Stop development already for the free version (fxsound). Paid -> Free -> End of development and support only.
I was having problems running batch files so I decided to rename the file .cmd and see if it would execute. I added the required "setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion" to the top of the new .cmd file but it displayed a "privileges" error. I have copies of numerous programs that convert BAT to EXE, but most require multiple inputs and options to generate an EXE file. For something simple, I wanted a way to convert a simple BAT to EXE without having to select multiple options and configurations. I did some research and located on OLD 7zip utility that provided a clean, simple and quick method of converting a simple .bat or .cmd file to an EXE. The old, outdated and unsupported utility is called "7z SFX CREATOR". I discovered that the utility only requires THREE files and two of the outdated 7zip program files that it includes (7z.dll and 7zG.exe) can be easily updated to the latest 7zip versions. This little utility creates good EXE files from .bat or .cmd and requires only THREE options: the SOURCE file, the TARGET file and the TYPE of output: installer(run a file) or archive (dont run a file). Since EXE files automatically run with privileges-the EXE I created worked perfectly. Clean, simple, uncomplicated and efficient. That's all I wanted in a BAT to EXE utility.