I seriously considered the GE Cafe electric. It's gorgeous, and I love its pro look with the front knobs. However, it is very expensive for a smoothtop electric, and for the amount of money, I'd rather have induction and not have to deal with the cleaning issues of a standard smoothtop electric. Lowest price I saw new was about $2100 at Sears at one of their various sales events and then there was one at my local Sears Outlet that was around $1750. FWIW, Consumer Reports rates it high. You may want to search on the Kitchens forum. There have been several threads about GE Cafe. Most people have gas or dual fuel, but there are few persons who have the smoothtop. People seem to be happy with it.

It may be adequate, it depends on how much and what you cook. My OTR MW is vented directly outside, it sits over my gas cooktop. I don't do a lot of high heat or grease splattering cooking, so the OTR MW is adequate. I had the same space constraints. I've had 5 OTR MW, and even when I was cooking for my family of 5, it was fine. I often use the MW when I cook, so it's handy to have it over the cooktop. Saves walking.

Thanks, kayakluv. Did you get the Broan 30" Elite or the 30" Elite Rangemaster? Does it vent vertically or straight out the back? Were there other hoods you were considering? Why and why not? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Most abnormally loud fan noise is due to faulty installs---which comes under your installer's warranty, not the manufacturers. Your installer should have been there when the service rep came so they could put their heads together. Fixing the problem is his issue. If you can't get him back out to diagnose, then you may have to pay for another HVAC person to diagnose the issue.