I put in both Dell Venue's.
Now my reasoning:
I hold them as one of the better bang-for-buck deals in both their respective fields. I'd be reluctant to compare an 8" tablet to something larger however.
The Venue 8 Pro has good battery life and I often see it available for lower prices, new, secondhand, or refurbished/open box. That is my perception however, it could be outdated though. It has an active digitizer, so while not Wacom tech, its been fixed up since launch. Dont know if I'd be willing to draw with it though. Still a solid device. It definitely has its own quirks though.
If you want a Wacom digitizer, the Vivotab Note 8 is a fine option though. I find most 8" tablets to be similar under the hood with smaller differences between them.
The 11 Pro is my vote for bang-for-buck in the larger sector. I could say it fits in as a "poor man's Surface Pro" but its more defined than just a cheaper Surface. Starts at the cheapest Bay-Trail model and goes up to an Core i7 processor. (dont know how well it'll stack up against the Surface Pro 3's i7.) The choice of a laptop-esque dock, an imitation type cover, a user-replaceable battery (big one for me) etc. and it still doesn't cost as much, although the accessories aren't exactly cheap and it doesn't feel or look quite as nice. (IMHO)
Other options to consider are the Lenovo Miix tablets, and the ThinkPad 10. Don't know about bang-for-buck but other ones are worth a look.
Another thing is last gen tablets. While CloverTrail Atoms aren't very good in terms of performance, the hardware can sometimes be found for cheap, especially if the hardware design and peripherals compensate. (Thinking of the Dell Latitude 10, Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2)
(sometimes an older high end device is better than a new cheap one if the price is the same)
The original Surface Pro might be a good idea, although personally I'd balk at the battery life and lack of repairability like the other Pro's and many other tablets.