If I wanted to do it all over again, 2wd would be the best option. Better mileage.
I live in a relatively flat part of the world that can get snow and slush. I didn't have any problem when I kept my old click-the-switch-between-2wd-and-4wd '01 Escape on 2wd most of the time.
I still want to see how my AWD works in East Coast beach sand. I know it worked well in last year's snow .. this time last year NYC had some snow around and a blizzard to come at the end of January. It has none now.