I'm in the same boat. I'd really like a physical kb, particularly on a HTC device. I'm pretty anti-moto so there aren't really any good choices at the moment. I will try Merge when (if) it's released on Verizon. The age of the device doesn't bother me, but there are deficiencies that do. (5mp camera [with one LED flash],no FM, no LTE, Bing) Honestly, I can live fine without LTE, but I don't see why HTC would downgrade the camera. I was really hoping for an outstanding camera, as I need to carry 2 phones and a camera now. I also like FM radio for weather, I work outside.
Samsung doesn't seem promising, maybe LG? At this point I'll probably buy one of the millions of DInc's off of craigslist the day after TB is released and give that a whirl while I wait for something better.
I highly doubt Verizon will ever release a stock android phone. They seem far too content neutering every device they sell to some degree. It's all about control, and Verizon isn't about to give control to you. The stars couldn't possibly align well enough to give us a VZW android powered slider developers device with stock google.