Received my complete slide assembly (replacement) today. The new one is much better finished but still exhibits a little red color in the serrations. I'll live with it. The new barrel has similar reddish color on the exterior, and to my disappointment was rusty inside the bore in the last half inch at the muzzle. I was able to clean that up and I think it was just surface rust.
The fit of barrel to slide is very good at the muzzle, and typically loose at the breach side to side. Slide to frame is loose enough not to worry about any crud binding it. Seems to shoot straight enough and I had no malfunctions running a box of Federal American Eagle FMJ through the supplied magazine. It has no real recoil to speak of, and the trigger is pretty well the same as the LCP II.
My overall impression is my two Prescott models were better made (LCP gen 1 and LCP II). But the MAX offers better capacity, better sights and better handling. For the price paid I think it's a fair deal. I would gladly pay Ruger more (mine was about $350) for a version that was nitrided and better fit.
After I few more boxes of FMJ I'll give some of my defensive rounds a go and see how it likes them. Precision one XTP, Hornady CD. I think this will work well as a pocket protector