Every version of the OS has new security updates. JB focused a lot on security. Most people focus on what they can see and give a hearty "meh big deal" when compared to ICS. However, in terms of security, quite a bit was done under the covers to protect from rogue apps. They scan apps you install in JB. You wanna know what would differentiate an MFG right now? Not a skin. That's just nonsense that 99% of users either don't care about or actually wish they could remove. What would differentiate a carrier is to provide timely updates. Something closer to a nexus experience. Imagine how popular Moto phones would be if they dropped a new OS update 6 weeks after Google publishes it. They have great hardware. No one cares all that much about motoblur, however. They do care that updates are NOTORIOUSLY slow. Why do you think Google killed webtop? It's because that added to the amount of time it took to get updates out. SIGNIFICANT time. Motoblur isn't as bad, but, it still takes time. Fortunately Moto was somewhat smart and made motoblur universal. So they only have to do it once per OS version and it works on all phones with minor tweaking. Still, I'd rather kill that and get a plain Android phone that simply rocks hardware wise. What made the OG Droid great? The skin? Oh right, it was a GED. No skin.
Yet it's still considered one of the best phones in history. How come that is if it had no skin?
The OG DROID was a great seller mostly because it had a killer marketing campaign behind it. The rest of the Verizon DROID line (outside of maybe the DROID RAZR) never received that kind of love. Look at the Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus 4. Critically acclaimed phones by the Android community, but nowhere near the popularity of say a Galaxy S3.
The reverse argument could also be made. "99%" don't really care about stock Android or OEM interfaces. The general buying public has hardly any idea of the Android version codenames. The general buying public hardly cares about removing the OEM's customizations to get back the "stock" Android look. They just need a phone that plays Angry Birds and connects to Facebook.
I'll draw some parallels to hardware and micro USB charging. All phones not made by Apple use micro USB charging. This has been the case for years now. I was at Starbucks last week and overheard this:
Samsung phone user: "Hey do you happen to have a Samsung charger or cable?"
Motorola phone user: "Nope. I just have the cable for my phone."
I stepped in here and mentioned that they both follow a standard and the Motorola micro USB cable will work on a Samsung phone.
These users are the kinds of users that I expect to not care about stock Android. Unfortunately, they're buying power far exceeds the buying power of you and me - the ones that actually do care.
Again, I respect your opinions and truly appreciate the help, guidance, and insights you give but any OEM going stock Android won't instantly solve their Android sales problems (HTC, Motorola, LG, Sony).