Only my first two beers were kits, both Brewer's Best, and both were solid. Belgian Tripel and a Schwartzbier brewed as an ale instead of a lager. The color on the Tripel was pretty dark for the style, probably due to using extract, but it tasted great. And the Schwartzbier brewed as an ale is actually what got me into Black IPAs.
I think most companies that do kits are probably diplomatic about what recipes they put out there in these kits and I doubt any of them are going to be terrible. I'm not sure if "diplomatic" is the word I was going for but I'm sticking with it.