Thoughts on extended warranties?

I am looking into this set up - http://www.beachcamera.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=E4SAMPN50B550 and that online store is pushing an extended warranty plan from Mack. The warranty cost $115 and covers the set for 3 years after the manufactures' warranty ends, seems pretty standard, but I've been finding negative review after negative review about Mack (example - http://photo.net/filters-bags-tripods-accessories-forum/00JKJu). So I went looking for other companies that specialize in product warranties and found two places that caught my eye, one being http://www.dtvexpress.com and the other being www.squaretrade.com

DTVexpress.com offers a 3 year warranty for $118. The company has been around for about 12 years and I've read is partnered up with another company that has been around for 2 decades. They also get a good rating from this organization - http://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/compact-discs-tapes-and-re cords-retail/dtv-express-in-atlanta-ga-4000555 but other than that, I know little about them.

Squaretrade.com seems relatively new, though their website claims they have been around for 10 years, and their 3 year warranty is $175, but the consumer reviews have been amazingly positive.
This website gives Squaretrade a 9.43/10 with 182 reviews - http://www.resellerratings.com/store/SquareTrade
And this site gives them 4.5/5 out of 631 reviews - http://www1.epinions.com/pr-Online_Stores_Services-SquareTrade_Inc
As well as this thread where people are giving them lots of love - http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=19206

So does anyone here have experience with these companies or extended warranties in general? Is there a better option out there? It seems that a few years ago most people considered extended warranties to be a rip off, but as manufacturers started to tighten up their warranties it I hear more praise for the extended package.