The 1st N scale loco I purchased 1 year ago was the Life-Like Hobby quality Proto N MoPac GP18.
It was running smoothly , but after 4 months it started to have a jerky motion.
I took the trucks apart ( frightening experience for a newbie ) , cleaned and bent a little the 2 brass current pickups in each truck, and voila my GP18 is running again the way it was when it came out of the box.
I like it , not too noisy just the right amount.
I have a 2nd Life-Like N scale proto, it's a TH&B SW9. It's out of order right now, but just because I can't find a proper way to replace the rapido coupler with a micro-trains one. But it is a very smooth runner and can crawls at very low speed.
Atlas locos ( and Kato of course ) are on the top of my list but if I want a model that's only manufactured by Life-Like , provided it's the Hobby Pro quality Proto N of course, I won't hesitate to buy it.
That's the reason why I 'm voting and giving them a high note.