(I use Microchip dspic33e 16-bit controllers professionally btw, and am quite happy with them, I mainly use them because they have many peripherals including motor control available in one chip (no different prints for different purposes), peripheral pin select (crossbar switch for peripheral I/O), lots of pins (144), decent speed (60-70MIPS).
There is some design-in legacy in that choice, but 3-4 years ago, it was the best choice )