Maximum PC

So I'm going to start by saying I don't know much about computer hardware, only have a very basic understanding.

I'm looking for a laptop that will be able to handle recent games well (borderlands, guildwars, skyrim to name a few). I use photoshop daily and its very important that my new computer can handle it with ease.
It would need to have some storage space, I work with multiple large files at a time mostly. A blu-ray drive isn't really important to me but a built-in dvd-drive would be nice.

A friend of mine who is more knowledgeable pointed me to a few options but more feedback would be great!
Heres what i've been looking at so far:
Sony Vaio S series
Macbook Pro
Alienware M17

My budget is $2000 but I'm looking for something more in the range of $1500 if possible. I don't think the websites save the customize options I picked but I think you'll get the picture.
My friend suggested the alienware computer, but I think he was mostly thinking of a computer he would like. The school I'm going to uses macs, and I haven't had any problems with them so far. My worry is the price doesn't really match the hardware?

I hope that wasn't too wordy, and that I put in enough detail! I've been reading reviews on these computers and I can't say its improved my confidence enough to decide on one yet.

I've been looking at a few boutique laptops too:

Maingear Nomad
Sager NP9150

Haven't been able to find/figure out how long the battery lasts on these computers. I would like to be mobile with my laptop.

Any thoughts?