As you wrote, freeware is not always the best solution. But remember that the main reason in this site there is only freeware is that it is "A Kind of WikiPedia for Freeware".

Anyway in the case of this specific category I think that for the purpose of "Process Viewing" - in terms of raw potential - no one can beat Sysinternals tool.

Better software, like the two commercial products you mentioned, are better becaus they add functionalities behind the process viewing.

A perfect example is Security Task Manager that include a sort of db of potentially dangerous processes.

To say in few words, in this category and similars there is nothing you couldn't do with one or more freeware tools. The fee you paid for a shareware product is only for more eae of use and support. You have to decide if the fee - for you - is worth it.

Bye