I ride on Nokian Extreme 294's. They will go thru anything. I've used them on dirt riding the MTB trails. And I've ridden them on glare ice. Which is what they were designed for. I've ridden across empty parking lots after an ice storm. And the parking lot looks like a frozen lake. I rode across it doing big sharp S turns, trying to get the front tire to slip. And it just wouldn't slip out from under me. Maybe a little bit once or twice. It's grip on ice is something else. But its given me confidence that no matter how bad the roads are. The Nokians will be able to handle it. They're good up to about 4-6 inches of snow. Anything more than that and you're probably walking.
And you're right. Folks who don't ride in the winter don't know what they are missing. Whole different world out there.