Yeah, like with so many things, if there were one clear "always best" option, there would have been consensus long ago. For me, it's a tossup between ESS1868/1869 and AWE32/AWE64 - basically, ESS for anything that wants to do FM music (yes, I know, ESFM is not OPL, but IMHO it sounds as good or better) or if I want to use a wavetable daughterboard. AWE32/64 for anything that can use the 16-bit sound modes and the AWE synth, but not really for FM, because CQM is goombas. A few things can use the 16-bit modes on the ESS, too (and all can under Windows, yay consistent APIs). With an MT-32 or an SC-55, it's a tossup, you can use either one - IIRC the AWE series don't have the hanging note bug, and none of the ESS cards do AFAIK.
The Audician32 and other YMF718 cards aren't half bad either. As good as ESS, in my opinion, though their Win3.1 drivers have an annoying but fixable bug, and, for what little it's worth, OS/2 doesn't ship with drivers for them, but does come with drivers for the Audiodrive. (Not that OS/2 support matters, or that installing drivers from elsewhere is a real problem, but if I *had* to find some kind of fault, that's it.) They have a real OPL3, too, for better or worse.
I have two 486 machines, one has a Yamaha, the other an ESS. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Main Box: Macbook Pro M2 Max
Alas, I'm down to emulation.