Yes, there are bad chains. However in general a chain should last the life of a vehicle and they are not viewed as a maintenance item. Companies will definitely go with a cheap chain if they can. It just seems "convenient" that a belt's recommended life span ends just when a car usually goes out of warranty (100k miles).

Maybe they are quieter but next to the noise of an internal combustion engine it seems negligible.

A high quality double roller chain is the next best thing to gear drive, IMO.

A discussion - http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/2711/timing-chain-vs-timing-belt