It's scary this comment appears to be getting downvoted. Having more than two driven wheels does not change the contact patch on the road, does not add braking capacity, and does not grant additional steering. Being able to steer and stop is usually more important for safety than being able to accelerate, and even then, if you don't have the friction you'll just end up spinning all four wheels instead of just two. Tires are the most critical part of a car.
>Having more than two driven wheels does not change the contact patch on the road
It literally doubles the contact patch over which you can apply forward forces. This is important when doing something like ascending a hill that has any sort of curve on it.
Not to say that more traction per wheel isn't more better but to just pass off AWD as being of negligible improvement is pure lunacy.
The snow tires vs AWD situation is more nuanced. I own three of the same old car. The FWD one is the one with snow tires and it still sucks compared to the AWD ones. The reason I put snow tires on it is so that it can hill climb better on my street. Snow tires are highly overrated for commuting conditions. Maybe they would be more worthwhile if they didn't salt the roads in my sate.
For the typical slush you get when a few inched of snow meets road salt then AWD wins every damn time. Traction is not dominated by the coefficient of friction but by your tires ability to shed the "thick water" they're driving through. A snow tire is not going to be better enough at this than an all season tire (alright, maybe a little since the tread is a tiny bit more aggressive leaving more room for slush) to make up for the fact that the front tires have to do all the going and all the steering. You will be breaking traction left and right every time you touch the gas. Two tires simply do not have the traction to keep you moving at traffic speed and keep you pointed where you want when they are saturated with slush.
I would almost go so far as to say that snow tires and FWD is more dangerous in "slushmageddon and rolling traffic jamb behind the plow" type commuting conditions (e.g. Boston this morning) than AWD and all seasons simple because you will likely need to drive closer to the limit of traction on your front tires in order to maintain the same forward speed.
I have no doubt that snow tires stop and turn great on a sheet of ice but that is not what real world snow driving conditions are like. Obviously AWD and snow tires would be the best combo but forced to choose one I'll choose AWD every time.
Do they not plow the road where you drive? Just put salt on top of it?
Tread depth is also an important factor, which is basically a freebie with snow tires, as they usually have more tread depth to start with than an all-season tire.
Regardless of drive system, if you feel you are at the limit of your traction keeping up with traffic, you are going too fast.