Well when moving to Deore, you get strong and lighter crank with external BB. The Alivio shifters are quirky IMO, unlike the Rapidfire shifters I'm accustomed to, the lever for going to smaller gear is on top rather than the bottom side of the shifter pod.
As far as price goes, I almost bought a bike with Alivo cranks, Deore FD, RD, shifters, Shimano 4xx hydraulic brakes (Alivio grade?) for $600. Pretty good deal IMO, but I didn't like the ride so for me it would have been a bad deal.