Are there different tiers (good/better/best) of door hardware?
Yes, there are tiers of lock product.

They are called Grades.  They are denoted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), most famous for defining standard thread sizes, and computer languages such as COBOL and C. 

However, in my experience, there are tiers within tiers.

For instance Home Depot will sell you a $60 Kwikset Class II deadbolt with a smile.  I've paid $200 for a Medeco Class II lockset.  These products are not equivalent.  That Medeco has an unbelievably solid feel to it. It's tough.  Honestly I'm surprised there's a tier above that.  

(mind you this Medeco accepts "figure 8" exchangeable cores; since we're all up into Primus type "cannot duplicate" keys, and we need that feature.) 

One difference is the Kwikset is sold by Home Depot, whereas I got the Medeco at a "Security Solutions" shop.  I'm evading the word "locksmith" because most people think of a locksmith as someone you call in a panic, who shows up in a van, and $150 of the total bill is just for rolling the van. No no, I'm talking about a "trade" retail store (in an industrial park, with a counter you talk to a clerk who gets what you want from the back room). When you walk up, you get locksmith services at perfectly sane prices, including custom keying and all that bench work. This describes a small minority of locksmiths. 

The simple fact is, Home Depot will never sell the $200 Medeco, because it won't move.  Random consumers are hypnotized by Home Depot's own low prices, but also by nifty trinkets like the Nest, Ring etc.  The only way they'd pay $200 for a lock-set is if you could unlock it with your phone.