I have a tippmann 98 and my friend has the autococker. I think mine is better, because his gun chops a lot and gets messed up. I have shot about 1500 rounds and never had a break.
In my personal opinion, yes, the 98c is a far superior product to the trilogy line. The trilogy line sets new (lower) standards for the peformance of mechanical guns, and you can't do anything about the biggest issue with them (3-way). I would go with most Brass Eagle guns before a trilogy.