The thing for me is that I'm now in a place where I want something that works and still has a few bells and whistles for my taste. It's why I like what LG has to offer. It is safe, affordable and functional, especially when you ig ore their gimmicks.
My main gripe with them is their lack of software support. The last LG I bought brand new was the G7+. If in my research I saw that it wasn't going to give me LTE, I'd have skipped it, honestly. The V35 experience kinda soured me from the idea of manually updating my phones or cross flashing to get rid of bloat, as LG decided to lock their bootloaders a few years ago.
If I don't want another LG as the daily driver, what are my choices? I love the in hand feel of the XZ3, and I liked the camera enough. No G cam port, but I'd use open camera for RAW footage. The 9 Pureview? Sure, but I'd have to put up with a bare bones Android One, and a finicky fingerprint scanner for a flat screen and a more interesting camera concept.
Just something to think through.