I think it all depends on how picky you are with your beams. You can always get a cheaper one first, to see if you like it, and then if you think the beam quality is alright, get the surefire. I'd say the beam quality of the Surefire will be better than that of the cheaper light just because of the texturing on the reflector, so it should be a step up from any cheaper choice you might get. You could always buy one that somebody is selling, too, and put your trust in their description. If they say it has a good beam, then it might not be such a gamble.
How about one of those Nuwais? The one that looks like an Ombu is supposed to have a pretty clean beam. I bought a Likki 5w for my dad's birthday and I find it more than acceptable. The Likki is pretty close to the size of an L4, only a little fatter.
Also, I think the way you use the light has a lot to do with how you feel about the beam. If your only shining it at white walls so you can see the donut hole, you might think, "aw man, there's a donut hole in my beam....shucks", and then dwell on that repeatedly. If you're actually using the light to see in the dark and find things, you probably won't even notice the donut hole. My first great light, which I bought long before ever coming to CPF, was (is) a 3-cell Nuwai 5w light (ALX-253, I think). Honestly, I never noticed anything wrong with the beam for most of the time I've owned it (more than 2 years), but after reading about donuts holes and buying a SF L4 , I now see the beam isn't that smooth and there is a donut hole in there. I still use that light more than any other (it's a knock around, "work" light), and I'm still amazed by it's output and performance and still love it. Even though, now, I do sometimes notice it has a less than perfect beam, more often than not, it's imperfections are not noticed by me.
