I use both Dosbox and 86Box.
86box, which is based on PCem, but has many enhancements, emulates from the ground up - you get to select which motherboard you want, the graphics card and sound card (from the list of currently supported cards), to installation of OS and drivers for mouse, sound cards, etc and memory management, etc. You get the same feeling of tinkering with a real classic machines.
I find myself tinkering with 86Box for that nostalgic feeling. And I find 86Box (again, the parent project is PCem) is great for Windows 95 installation and gaming. I can finally let both my real 486 and real Win95 system rest.
Currently, 86Box still has some speed issues and occasional stuttering, but it's progress is quite good and I'm already happy with it's emulation. And I find it the best emulator to install Win95 and play Win95 games.
Dosbox just makes everything simpler for DOS gaming. It's the easiest way to play DOS games currently on modern systems. There's no memory management headaches. No need to worry about drivers. Supports intelligent MIDI routing to actual MIDI units or MUNT or other MIDI software.
And one of the many usefulness of Dosbox is speed control for games. You can set the speed for certain games for the right speed. A real 486 maybe too fast for some games while a real 286 or 386 maybe too slow for others. With Dosbox, you can set the cycles to the most appropriate speed for those speed sensitive or speed intensive games.
In terms of ease of play of DOS games, convenience, smoothness, hassle-free setups, nothing beats Dosbox.