For background I am a very experienced PC user, 30+ years and quite knowledgeable in IT security running lots of tests. In the past few months I have tried not only BD free, but also BD AV paid, Avast, Avira, MSE, F-secure, GData, Comodo, Webroot and many others previously.
BD AV free is simply the best choice if you want the highest available protection via a single product and which is combined in a manner that is extremely lightweight (great for low powered laptops), hassle-free, no pop-ups to upgrade to another product, no slowdown of web-browsing, pain free compared to every other AV that I have used, free or paid, although Webroot Secure Anywhere (a paid product) comes close in freedom from hassle and speed.
In addition I installed free Safepay from BD. Perfect for internet banking security. The two products are simply unbeatable, no need for anything else for most people. I also use a VPN when travelling, but that's it, Windows 7 / 8 firewall is more than good enough.
I used to spend a lot of time, even enjoyed, tinkering around with the various settings in AVs, but then I realised that life is too short to be spending time on that, worrying about configurations, surely there are some very bright developers out there who can take full responsibility, do a great job, and leave me without hassle, free my time? Fortunately BD have done that.
In fact I am so pleased with their effort that for appreciation I will continue to pay them for my Pro licence but keep on using the free product instead, it's so simple and the BD AV Pro actually gave me some problems, unlike the free version.