i have a love and hate with ABS. I drive here in this god frozen state of MN so i have a bit of experience driving in non-ideal conditions. A non-ABS RWD miata with winter tires was a stellar winter driver. Very controllable, nimble, and even with aggressive brake pads. Disadvantage, i am...
Interesting, never had to drive one without VC. It's possible it's the VC in action, but my 80 can not spin any tires from a dead stop on snow in 4HI as much as I try to :D. I simply attributed it the lack of power combined with tallish gear.
The going will not be a big problem for this truck, and the lack of power on highway driving conditions (and moreso with winter tires) makes it very docile. I don't really think a VC will make a lot of difference, but your winter tires will surely do. However, imo, stopping and turning, like...