Without digging out all the info again on my Land Rover (quiet at the back there!), but I had two yellow tops, started on one and paralleled the two when winching. the yellow tops
will charge fine with a standard alternator as long as it is working correctly, BTDT. In fact IIRC the specs of all the Optima range allow them to be charged from a regular charging source? I think the failures were brought about by some people who expected too much of the batteries, leaving them flat for extended periods of time for example.
The move of the production plant to Mexico resulted in a lowering of quality control, and then the well documented failures. Many batteries from the original production plants are outliving the new versions from Mexico. The two speed electric engine cooling fan on my 80 was originally manufactured in Canada and extremely reliable alas, it seems the new replacements are from Mexico, it appears that Mexico has become America's China.
Something else which occurred to me is about the capacity of the Optima's. Because they were spiral and gel made them different, now the typical rectangular battery cases can be had in gel form then the capacity should be higher. Just thinking aloud and unsure if I can make a clear point but, size for size of battery cases, you can get more lead with flat plates in a 'normal' battery case than you can round plates.
Enter Dave's 'Paint' demo.
Back to Franks OP, I chose a pair of marine batteries five years ago, and then last year one started to fail so of course replaced the pair again with the same design although the brand names are similar. They were such a good price I decided that if I replaced on a four yearly basis, I would still be ahead of the big name brands.
I do agree with Chris's thoughts and would go with a basic known brand and be happy to replace in perhaps four to five years?
Varta have a great name here as do Bosch and Odyssey but very pricy.
regards
Dave