I've searched around and gathered the differences in spec, considered the 1104x-e also but its considerably more expensive and looks to be a lot more time in going from menu to sub menu vs the others.
My take away is the 1054z I'd have 100mhz vs 50mhz, slightly higher 1ch/2ch channel memory depth, and a larger community base. The GDS-1054b has independent channel controls, more memory in 3ch/4ch modes, a far better FFT function, supports CAN+LIN decoding, and limited data logging over the Rigol, and its 50k wfms/s vs 30k. The GDS-1054b is also $40 less than the Rigol but that isn't a real big deal to me. I'm assuming the GW would be a bit more user friendly with the independent ch controls and the better FFT has me leaning that direction. However I really don't know how big of a deal the higher bandwidth and deeper single channel memory on the Rigol is for my use. I could be totally off on thinking the GW would be more user friendly as well.
Rigol 1054z 100mhz, 30,000wfms/s, Memory/ch 24/12/6/6Mpoint, FFT 16k points
GW GDS-1054-b 50mhz, 50,000wfms/s, Memory/ch 10/10/10/10Mpoint, FFT 1M point.
Use case would be audio equipment (Amps A/B D, EQ, filters), 80's arcade boards 6502 based mostly, automotive engine management, boost/buck, and general SMPS repair. My best guess is most signals I'd be looking at would be under 250khz aside from some SPI/I2C/CAN bus or maybe a controller in the 1-25mhz area.
I've always made do without, mostly because its usually a case of something quit and I can't justify spending hundreds to replace it before being sure its not dead over a few $ in parts, corrosion, or cracked solder joint. That's also not a situation that when it comes up anyone is thinking to buy a $300 tool to maybe repair one thing either. It's since become a bit of a hobby that overlaps with some other things. While it's been interesting seeing what I can manage with a DMM and cheap component tester over the years, I have better things to do with my time than trying to work ways around what I can't see. I have some understanding through research, youtube, ect. But I've never had access to a scope so as an example something like what sort of bandwidth/wfms do I need in a scope to look at a 10mhz clock signal and know its good enough that a micro or cpu would be happy running from it, is totally outside my experience.
How much scope do I need for this sort of use, would the difference in bandwidth or wfms/s matter to me or any other features, is the FFT on the Rigol any better below say 100-150khz where I'd be using it for audio / class D filtering, or is it going to be as bad as the examples I've seen at higher frequencies?