Lotsa a pros and cons with all of this.
FX wise, the Axe is definitely en par with the pricey Eventide units (Eclipse, H7600,....). What is awesome is the possibility to (re-)arrange the FX chains and routing in any possible combination one can think of.
The Amp models and cab sims need time to get acquainted to, especially with the gazillion of adjustable parameters.
To make full use of this you gotta dig into it utilizing the FRFR approach as both the behavior and reaction of poweramp and cab (which all react with each other) are simulated. When I hooked the Axe up to my 2:90 with 2 wide body ported cabs and had the poweramp and cabs blocks engaged with one of the standard presets it sounded like a$$.
Another important thing is sound vs feel.
With everything dialed in properly it sounds damn convincing....it certainly lacks the feel of 2x90 watts of SimulClass power (in my case) pushing broken-in V30s in a carefully designed and calculated enclosure though....that´s a trade-off one has to know and live with it.
Bottom line is its avery powerful unit with endless possibilities and very convincing sounds.
I also own an Eleven Rack which come for a fraction of the Axe $$ (350€ for the 11R in my case). The number of Amp/Cab sims and effects is more limited, as are the routing options. But here also, once dialed in properly, it sounds really convincing.
Nice added bonus with the 11R is that it´s basically am audio interface (same as the Digi 003 Rack) with the added bonus of the Amp and FX. So I can record, add FX from the box or plug-ins, integrate external (real)amps, pedals, and have the possibility of re-amping the whole shebang as I can also record the dry signal in an extra track....