I think you'll find that the 22156 is plenty heavy:)
'Thicker' cast-aluminum deck? How did you determine that?
I had to go to the Toro dealer looking for some Honda blades (no luck there) yesterday, and what did he have displayed? A new 22156. Toro obviously is stuck with their red and white colors, but the 22156 just doesn't look as cool as the original LB 22271. One thing I like about the 22271 deck - the LB logo is cast-in, then ground off after painting - very distinctive.
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Anyway man, you're just going to have to make a decision. Once you decide to buy a premium mower, you realize there are a good number of them out there, starting on the low end with the Honda HRX and going up from there. It all comes down to the one that floats your boat. They're all good, but some commercials are too 'industrial' for homeowner use. I think the Exmark falls into that category, and the 22156 is right on the south side of that line - commercial enough for outstanding durability, but still user-friendly enough for the residential user. The HRX is more south of the line, but is still a tough mower. The Exmark is well north of the line with 137 lbs of long-lasting boiler plate that is needed for for the rough use employees tend to give to company equipment. I would not want to face that beast on a hot August day, pulling back against a slope or picking it up to put in a truck bed. The big benefit with the Exmark is you can get really big mowers, like the 26", for faster coverage of big lots.
But hey, you have a happy choice to make. Whatever you get should be around for many years, so as the old Crusader told Indiana Jones; "choose wisely'.

The eXmark is rated at 1/4" thick (same as the heavy use commercial Toro's) - just feeling it I could tell the difference with the 22156. That doesn't mean the 22156 will fall apart (I doubt it), just an observation. Btw, the eXmark has the logo cast in like the LawnBoy and you're right, it does look pretty cool.

And stop posting your 22271 - you're making me sad that I can't have one. I've even emailed LawnBoy asking them if there was a way to look for old stock in their dealer network. Haha.

Weight of the mower isn't a huge issue for me, as my smallish 0.2ac lot is completely flat (and it would never leave my property on a truck except for repairs), so long as the 35lb difference didn't make it significantly more difficult to maneuver around on the yard. I don't find my LB 10686 or JD 14SB heavy at all (and I think the 22156 is close to the same weight as them).

I want to stay between $800-1,100, which is why the HRC and Toro prolines are out of the picture... the eXmark would usually be about $1,250, but I've been offered a great deal by a local dealer for $1,030 (one of the decals is scratched) which is why it's now screwing with my original decision to go with the Toro 22156...

Have you made your choice yet?

I was in the same boat 5 years ago and I ended up buying the Toro 22164 which is the SR4 with the FJ180V on it.

I have done nothing but blades, oil and spark plugs and it has been great other than a month ago I lost a bolt.

It blew my old residential Craftsman with a Tec-Eager1 out of the water and way more reliable.

Do not be afraid to fork out your hard earned dollars for a commercial grade mower as I found it to be worth it.

I did Frito, thanks for asking - went with the Toro 22156 - same deck as yours but without the 'personal pace' handle (it has a 1" handle with bail speed control... kinda personal pace but controlled by the bail) and the Honda GSV190 instead of the Kawi engine. So far so good; doesn't do as nice of a cut as my old John Deere 14SB, but it is a nice machine and very easy to maneuver with the light weight. Ultimately I liked the eXmark and the Toro Proline, but they were too heavy for my very landscaped yard (tons of turning required)...

Are you mulching or bagging? Are comparing it to the JD14SB in the same mode, same height, same grass conditions? Any mower gives a better cut when bagging or discharging because of the suction effect of the blade. That is largely negated when mulching with a closed deck.

I tried the 22156 both mulching and bagging... mind you, the stock bagging blade is currently on it (whereas the 14SB has a Gator), so I'm going to take the Gator off my 10686 and give it a whirl!

Okay, so the Gator blade made a big difference both mulching and bagging. I knew it would be an improvement in mulching (over the stock 'bagger' blade), but bagging was better was well. Also, I have to say the GSV190 is a great engine - tons of torque. My Tec LV195EA would often bog down when mulching over an inch of thick grass - the GSV190 had no issues at all.