I own a JVC RS-45 and I will also suggest you to stay away if you are interested in 3D. Ghosting is very visible and for me its not watchable. Picture is bright enough though.
But for 2D it will be hard to beat it at the price point.
You haven't mentioned how important is 3D for you though. I was in a similar situation as you are. I wanted to buy either Benq W7000/Epson 5010/Panasonic AE7000 (Best of both worlds). But after the demo, it was a no brainer to buy JVC.
Don't buy without a demo no matter whichever you are buying.
If 3D is a must, go for Benq W7000 since it is DLP and it is cheaper than the competition.
And if you want to decide between panasonic and Sony, I will suggest Panasonic because of the lens memory. It is pretty cool and is something that cannot be ignored. Even more so if you are a movie fanatic. It is pretty hard if at all possible to find a projector which has everything at this price point.