FWIW....I've had front hitches on 2 pickups in the past. Mostly used for spotting trailers and the like. Very infrequently (in the past) used to slide in a "hitch mount" winch for getting un-stuck.
If the pull on a front-hitch-mounted winch is not fairly close to straight ahead, remember that there's a couple feet of moment arm between the attachment points and the force of the pull: sideways pull puts a pretty significant strain on the cradle and attach points.