For what it is worth,
I cannot think of a shop I have been in that didn't have a set like the one you asked about. Hickory handled and well balanced is the norm. I know the Harbor Freight set works just fine if you aren't in it for the long run. After all, how bad could a simple chunk of metal be? The dollies are soft, the hammer faces are not true and even though both can be cleaned up to a degree but you are probably better off buying a better set to begin with.
Geoff