I should have said that they don't have mechanical brakes that trigger when the motor stops driving the drum. Some may have "electrical" braking via the motor but it's not instantaneous and unlikely to prevent a catastrophic failure. Majority nowadays don't have physical bump switches that the drum impacts when oscillating (the "old-style" Maytag Neptunes do have bump switches, probably some others from that time-frame). Balance sensing is by monitoring rotational inertia and characteristics during the slow-RPM load distribution routine. Catastrophic failure of the drum or drum support stops the machine ... the drum can't turn if it's jammed. The control would/should sense the high-current or lack of rotational sensor feedback and shut the motor off but probably not in a way that would prevent damage from occurring. There's not a lot can be done if the drum breaks loose from the support spider at 1,000 RPM+. Maybe (hopefully?) someone will reply to advise in the contrary! My Neptune TL has a device (I believe it's called an accelerometer) on the control board in the console that can sense the vibration if the drum impacts the cabinet. It comes into play during the distribution routine at start of spin. Max spin speed is limited to 500 RPM if an impact occurs at any point during distribution, even it if redistributes and gets a perfectly balanced spin. The sensor remains active during spin on the Bulky cycle but not on other cycles best as I can determine. However, it definitely does not have a spin brake, takes a long time for the heavy drum to coast-down.

Here's some discussion of the Miele Little Giant. If you can find one locally I'd take in your comforter for a trial wash. 195 heated wash. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2437975/question-for-miele-little-giant-owners

I would get a front loader again. I have a neighbor with an LG top loader without an agitator and she hates it. People have been happy with Electrolux, Whirlpool Duets, Mieles, LGs. Look them over and see what features you need. For example. I have a regular sized Miele, but would not be able to wash a king sized quilt/comforter in it. My house is too small for a king sized bed though, haha. I love my Miele and have a second set, I found used on Craigs List from an appliance repair shop that repairs high end appliances, in the basement now, for DH farm clothes. I have a regular laundromat going on here :) I like having special wash cycles for wool, pillows, outerwear, whites, sanitize, etc. I love having an on board heater. My washer will wash cold, cool, warm (104f deg), very warm (122f), hot (140f), and sanitize (158f). I usually use warm, very warm, and hot.

I have a Samsung top loader that was involved in their recent recall. Its about 4 years old and held up great until a few months after the recall and then it started shaking and adding tons of time during the spin cycle (which is related to the recall). They sent a DishTv person out to do the recall repair and immediately after he left, the first load I did, it was worse than it ever was. I called back and got to the warranty dept b/c after the recall fix, it was now a warranty issue. But there was a lot of phone calls back and forth to get the warranty work approved. Finally, its all fixed, but I couldn't use my washer for about 2 weeks and it would have been longer if I had not been so aggressive with my phone calls to them multiple times a day. Laundromats are not cheap either. This was all right around Christmas time and I was pissed. I actually ended up contacting a Samsung executive on FB and wrote him a loooong message about how terrible the whole experience was (I have left many of the details out, but nobody seems to know what they are doing or care, etc. I felt like I was inconveniencing them b/c Samsung cut gave me a washer that might explode.) Anyhow, the executive did take about a month to get back to me and by that time the washer was fixed. But he was actually super nice and is sending me a check for $150. That said, even after his act of kindness, it will be a long time before I buy another Samsung appliance. Their customer service is absolutely horrifying. The only time I have had worse is with Comcast.