I'm leaning toward the XPS but I keep hearing that the trackpad is pretty shitty. Can you confirm/deny that?

It's not as good as the force trackpad on the current MBP, but it's not bad, either. My only real gripe is that the physical click is a little heavy & loud. I'd put it in the same ballpark with prior generations of MBPs that physically clicked. You can always go play with one at a Micro Center or other box store.