What do you guys recommend? If the M&P Shield or PPS had a thumb safety they'd be perfect. Something like that....
Both of these are great options, you really can't go wrong. As mentioned above, there is a thumb-safety version of the Shield. It's very well positioned, and is plenty easy to disengage, while not being very easy to accidentally engage.
The Walther is nice, but it's ballance and ergos are a little funkier than the Shield, which I think, just melts into your hand.
The factory sights are a little better on the Walther,(larger,wider,brighter dots) and the gen1 still has the paddle safety, which I always thought was a great idea. These don't inadvertently let your magazine pop loose when pocket carrying like a tradtional button release can (and has for me, a few times).
Now that the Walther's PPS prices have come back down to earth, they're serious competition for the Shield and XDS. But, the mags are harder to find, and more expensive.
Also, both pistols now come with a 7 and 8-rd mag, but the PPS is noticably larger with the 8-rd mag, than the Shield is with it's 8-rd mag. The Shield with it's 7-rd mag is VERY compact.
I've seen Shield mags on ebay for $24.99, delivered. Also, they're stainless, whcih I really like.
Both pistols, in my experience are accurate and 100% reliable, with a wide variety of ammos.
Given the popularity of the Shields, the cheaper stainless mags, and S&W's stellar customer service support, I would give the nod to the Shield (and I say that with a gen1 PPS in my pocket as we speak,LOL!)