Scubarbi, I`ll tell you from personal experience...IT WAS THE BEST FLYING I`VE EVER DONE!!!!!!!! And I was only instructing!!!
I`ll try to answer your questions here.
1. ATC is good where there is ATC - I flew mostly in the Anchorage area, and those men and women with the radars are true professionals. I honestly don`t know how they manage to keep all the small airplanes apart... you`ll see what I mean.
2. If you`re going to instruct then there will of course be company WX minimums, and a lot of this has to do with flying into visible moisture when the surrounding air temp is below zero - this is a major consideration in the sumemrtime (winter is always cold).
3. Scud running isn`t "common practise" meaning that you don`t do it every day. Keep in mind that almost all of Alaska is class G airspace (ok there are a couple of Cs and even more Ds, but still) and when the visibility drops to 1 mile and the ceiling is 1000` and all you see is forrest/water/mountains, well.... you might need to change your boxers when you land. Radar doens`t cover everything, but there is a new system being tested in western Alaska called ADS-B or the "Capatone project". Basically it`s a kind of passive tcas.
4. Maintenance varies, but if you`re with a flight school or a serious air taxi outfit then you shouldn`t be too worried. For your own ease of mind you can talk to the mechanics and look through the maintenance records.
5. I don`t want to say who you should avoid or not because I haven`t been there in awhile. This is something you should find out for yourself by talking to other instructors and locals. Here`s a tip; if they tell you that they`ve never had an accident, then most likely they`re lying to you.
Send me a PM and I`ll give you some more tips!