Before either ESP or Fernandes were "big names" I owned their guitars.
My '86 ESP 400 Series I still own. The 400 Series (so called because of their $400 list price) was ESP's first MIJ production run of guitars slated for the U.S.
20 years later and ESP is a respected "big name".
Fernandes has not had the success that ESP and others have had yet they, imho, have earned respect as quality guitar builders.
I used to own a T-100 (Tele copy) and it was on-par with Fender's original versions.
Another name that was very short lived was Brawley Guitars. Brawley's were produced in the early 2000's and the company was headed up by Mark Brawley who was a former high-up with Fender's Squier division.
I've played many of the Threat series of guitars and they were some of the best MIK guitars I've ever played and definitely on-par with some MIJ and MIA instruments, yet costing much less.
Sadly, Brawley never caught on and Mark has since gone on to being a vice-president for Guitar Center.
Coincidentally, you'll find the remaining stock of Brawley's at several Guitar Center stores.
And I'm still going to plug Godin. While not a "big name" when compared to Fender or Gibson, they are gaining ground and a following outside of a few strange folks like me who occasionally like to play something different.
If you're looking for a "Strat" or a "Les Paul" or most anything else, Godin makes a similar guitar that is not an outright copy yet is normal enough to be considered mainstream and not weird, imho. And quality the meets or exceeds other guitars costing as much or more.