Regarding the customization exclusivity, has anyone considered that this may actually be the preferred route by Motorola in order to account for scalable capability? In other words, start with one carrier, iron out the wrinkles, validate the predicted volumes, THEN open it up to additional carriers when you know you've got things like this working correctly? No one else has attempted this kind of thing before so I totally give them slack in rolling this capability out in phases. And considering that Verizon is "the biggest" by customer volume and that they are rolling out the Droid line in synch with the X, as well as AT&T's propensity to pony up some bucks to get exclusive deals (e.g. S4 Active, red S4, etc.), then things really start to make sense, IMO.
My upgrade date conveniently hits on 10/1. I'll more than happily wait a month or so in order to get a Verizon version via the Moto Maker. As I see it, this phone has the performance where it counts and has the look and feel that will make me WANT to use it. My son has the S4 and I'm really not all that impressed with how it feels in the hand, and I just really don't like TouchWiz. The HTC One looks good and feels good but I'm deathly worried about the lack of updates from HTC. But with the X, my senses tell me that Motorola will be all over updates for this device due to the sheer amount of attention they have focused on it as their launch device. From a PR perspective alone, they can't let it become forgotten.
So when I add everything up...I'm not bothered by the initial exclusivity of Moto Maker. I think I understand the why's, even if they aren't publicly stated by any of the corporate players involved. And the delay just gives me more time to ensure I pick the right device, be it the X or something else.