I don't disagree with any of this... I just don't see what alternatives you have that are superior to what Google offers with the Nexus line. Even the handsets

I don't disagree with any of this... I just don't see what alternatives you have that are superior to what Google offers with the Nexus line. Even the handsets that are sold on the idea of open source have spotty records when it comes to supported OTA updates beyond a year or so after release. Given the lack of any ideal alternative, I'm personally sticking with Nexus devices and just going with unofficial builds of the OS when it makes sense to do so.