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I was asked about this, and my initial assumptions was that blogger.com sites could rank as well as any other site, given it has relevant content, links, etc. Knowing that blogger.com is owned by Google, is there anything that would help blogger rank better or worse?

The main question I have is whether blogger.com sites can rank well organically or not?

Sure it can. Search for "rochester internet marketing" and you will see one of Hubshout's prior employees blog sites. It is all about content and focusing on the right keyword.

Well... that's a blog site, but it doesn't look like "blogger.com" specifically. Wordpress also has blog sites which rank well. I guess my main concern is lack of control over the site. I've heard that Google can essentially wipe out a blogger.com site anytime they want (since they technically own it). I want to push people away from blogger.com, and get them more on wordpress.org or something like that, but I want other people's opinions.

I'm with you on that, Eric. It's clear that blogs can rank decently on Blogger.com, utilizing the right type of content and keywords, but I agree it's far too easy for Google to pull the plug. There are so many things you might be doing incorrectly on your unregulated blog that Google might flag as spammy. I personally use Blogger, but since taking this job have switched up my promotional and content tactics quite a bit.

So the question I need answered is if a company should have another site (wordpress?) in conjunction with the blogger site? My gut instinct tells me yes because of the limited control.

Wordpress is definitely a great alternative - an almost as streamlined, user-friendly experience that enables independence from Google's strict guidelines. I would never make the switch exclusively to Wordpress, but I agree with your idea of utilizing both in conjunction.

well I wouldn't want to put work into a blogger.com site just to have all my work wiped out. That's the scenario i'm more afraid of happening... 2 months down the road when all the work has been put into it, Google decided we put 1 too many pictures on a post and takes it down (this is hypothetical btw)

I think you're right, Eric. If you have serious doubts about the stability of blogger, it's not worth putting all the work into it.

Aren't there widgets for blogging in wordpress? What is the advantage to using blogger.com?

There is no advantage. I'm trying to talk people out of using Blogger.com. I'm trying to help someone who has a blogger.com site, and I needed specific points to go back and tell them to drop blogger.com