Having worked in a few shipping/receiving jobs I generally prefer FedEx. UPS can be horrible for package handling. Back in the mid 90s I had a horrible run with UPS and stuff being sent out to the southwest. Busted packages all the time. I agree on UPS ground.. slow as hell delivery times and no way would I trust anything sensitive to them for a week of transit.
As for delievery, it really depends on where you live. Last place I lived, UPS always delievered at bad times for me, they'd take an extra day if I wanted to pick it up myself (which was usually necessary) and were generally just a pain in the arse. In my current town, UPS isn't that bad and generally will show up past 5pm which is usually convenient for me. FedEx has almost always been fast, on time, and almost religiously show up at the same time for delieveries.