>I think Windows prioritizes making the text look sharp over getting all the character strokes in the right place.

Yup, pretty much. A trio of Spolsky/Atwood posts from 2007 worth reading:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/06/whats-wrong-with-ap...

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/06/12.html

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/06/font-rendering-resp...