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OK, I know extremely little about rifles, but have been doing a lot of reading. If you strip the Axis down and look at just the barrel, bolt, action and Accutrigger, just how different is it from an 11/111 or 10/110? I know the stock is not top grade, but what are you really paying for with the higher end models?
I'm not the most qualified to answer your questions, but I do own a .223 Axis SR (suppressor ready) and a .308 10FP-SR. I think you kind of hit the nail on the head with perhaps the biggest difference between the low cost Axis and the higher priced Savages. My 10FP-SR came in a aluminum bedded HS Precision stock. If you price Savages and other brands of rifles, the stocks are one of the big features that contribute greatly to to the higher prices. With that being said, my Axis shoots pretty darn well. But, I did have to do some tweaks, most notably replacing the non-accutrigger with a Rifle Basix trigger which I adjusted to a crisp 14 oz. That modification added about $100 to the price tag. The accutrigger on the Axis II may be good enough for you, but I doubt it will compare to a nicely adjusted Rifle Basix trigger, and the extra cost IMO is not worth it compared to the standard Axis trigger.The trigger on the standard Axis can be modified to go lighter, and I got mine down to about 2.5 lbs, but wanted less, so I bought the Rifle Basix trigger. I also stiffened the forend of the stock channel with JB Weld poured into the hollowed out channel, which worked out pretty well, but added about another $25 to the cost. I also made sure the barrel was floated by doing a little sanding on the sides of the barrel channel. At least that modification was free. So, while the price of an Axis can be attractive, you can fall into a trap of customizing it to a point that the "economy" value of the rifle is negated. (No offense to those that have highly customized Axis rifles) All the Axis rifles are long actions too. Whether it be a .223 or 30-06, it will be a long action. That does not bother me too much, but I probably would have preferred a short action for my .223. Depending on what you want, you might want to look at some other economy rifles in the Savage line. The Hog Hunter and 12FV from Cabelas can be had very reasonably, and are probably much easier to upgrade with aftermarket stocks. (I plan on buying a 12FV in the future.) Although my Axis did not come with an Accutrigger, my 10FP-SR did. I really don't care for it. Some do, and some don't. I thought I would, but I have not fallen in love with it. I have modified it to go lighter, and it breaks nicely, but it just hasn't grown on my yet. (That is why I'm a little critical of the Accutrigger on the Axis II) Also, I have read that the Axis barrels are the same barrels that are used on other Savage rifles. I don't know if that is true or not. I know my pricier 10FP-SR shot pretty good right of the box and it took 100 rounds or so for my Axis to settle down. The Axis barrel had a rough bore. But, the Axis shoots great now. I guess it is all in what you want. If you want a cheap rifle to be deer or critter accurate without breaking the bank, the Axis can be a good value as long as you don't go overboard modifying it.
Also, the Axis recoil lug is not attached as on other Savage rifles. It is a separate piece of metal that fits in a notch on the stock and mates up in another notch at the barrel/receiver junction.
I don't know if any of that helped. If not, I know these other guys can answer your questions.
I like mine; the whitetail in the freezer....not so much.
I recently just got one in 308 Win. I'm doing load workup for mine now. So far the ladder test I did shows promise. It also shot a 3 shot group of about 1" at 226 yards using some loads for my LR308. This was with Hornady 178 BTHP. Haven't settled on anything yet, but itching to get her out to the range again for some more development.
The fit and finish is better on the more expensive models. Trigger is the same as the upper models since the Axis 2 comes with the same accutrigger, With the bolt backed out on my axis II there is some play up/down left/right which can cause binding when you chamber a round (that is one glaring difference) tighter tolarance. as far as shooting they shoot comparable to higher end models even with my flimsy stock bench rested at slightly over 1/2" groups @100 yds. and hit a 12" plate @ 300 yds on my first shot