I love SPD's/mountain/commuter shoe combo on all three of my commuter bikes. Wouldn't change the system, just the shoes when they wear out.
Pedals that I would recommend for commuting/touring/city use.......
Shimano A530.....roadier platform side, work well with vibram five fingers, recently moved to my univega sport our:
Shimano M324's on my mtn bike commuter:
Shimano T780, newest to me, on my Origin8 CX700:
Bunch of different SPD/mountain/commuter shoes over time, here. Use keen austin pedal for winter/business casual and keen commuter sandals in the summer, no socks.
Like a lot of the pearl izumi shoes, though, had 3 pairs. Just got these a couple of weeks ago to replace an aging pair. Found them for $39.99 in my size:
or these, newer model of same shoe:
One thing I prefer..........I use the single direction release SPD cleats(sh51), only, don't care for the multi-release. I have one set of multi-release(sh56) on my keen austin shoes, business casual, casual cycling only. If you are an aggressive rider and used to clipless pedals the single release stay put better and I still find them easy to get out of. I tend to come out of the multi's too easily, especially when worn.
Caused me a couple of uncomfortable situations when I had a lot of leg in the pedal.