Might fine question, and honestly, I don't know. I'm old-school, still riding an acoustic bike. If I were to buy an electric bike, I think I'd spend the money to stick with the long-time brands, mostly for availability of parts and quality battery packs. There are a lot of cheap bikes with obscure brand names, and occasionally, I see news articles about their battery packs starting apartments and houses on fire. But, also, since the battery packs are generally custom-fit to the frame, having a source of replacements available is a good idea. That brings to mind a suggestion: If you have a local bike shop nearby, it's worth stopping in to talk to the mechanics (not the sales staff) about what's good

There are so many issues to consider. Who makes the motor? Who makes the battery? Will you still be able to buy that battery in 5 years? Will it still work if the company that sold it goes out of business? You can get cheap Chinese e-bikes for 1/4 the cost of American-branded e-bikes. But, sometimes the American ones are just Chinese ones with a sticker slapped on that doubles the price.

From what I've been able to figure out, motors made by Bafang and batteries made by Bafang or Samsung are thought to be ones that should still be around in a few years.

Then there are all the other issues to consider: hub drive or mid-drive? Pedal assist or throttle? Rear derailleur, internally geared hub, or continuously variable transmission?

I've been thinking of getting one and am ready to part with my money, but I can't justify the price of some of the North-American / European labelled bikes, but don't want to waste money on a Chinese one that might only work for a few weeks.

That's easy: they are all garbage.