i wouldnt say their drivers suck... they dont bring out many very often, but the comparison is to nvidia, who bring out a new set of drivers for every pair of socks the MD wears (which is probably a lot)...
but like i told someone on IRC the other night - 9 out of 10 nvidia drivers give the user a lack of increasing performance in everyday applications, but instead giving the user an extra 20 points on 3dmark2003. And like mbunny has said in the past, the 3dmark2003 is nothing more than an ego thing - just like the fatheads at the beach flexing their muscles to impress.