The Nordic Ice Tracks (cdn tire) are a decent low cost winter tire. They are actually made by Michelin (probably not exactly the same ingredients). I had them for my 89 civic hb and they worked great. They had decent life and they were great in deep snow. I currently use Michelin arctic alpines on my integra- they are great on ice, but terrible in deep snow.
Deep channels and wider gaps in the tread usually help in deep snow, wheras small slits in the tread usually help on ice. Also, if you are buying ice tires, I would recommend buying a narrower tire, I find they actually get better traction it deep snow because they can get down to hard pack and they are better for steering. If you follow rally, the ice tires they use are very narrow… FYI: the Nordic Winter track tires are also studdable, which (if studs are permitted where you live) is a great option.
As for the AWD debate, there is no substitute for AWD- four tires are better than one. Also, stablity control and all the rest is irrelevant- I drive my buddies Celica All-track all the time- it has summer tires and it can drive better than any fwd car hands down (even without traction control). (Stopping may be a different story).