the maxx probably will not have a removable battery and a qHD screen. GN doesn't have a removable sd card. My biggest concerns with the thunderbolt are the lack of hd screen and battery life, but I must have a removable battery. In the end, I ended up getting a rezound for $50 on upgrade for the HD screen. The speed of the thunderbolt was okay for me, so dual, quad, even octa core at this time won't really make a difference, but if speed is important to you, then wait for a quad core.
If you want a slim phone with a large battery, but can handle a non - removable battery then look at the maxx.
If you must have all the updates official as soon as possible, then look at the gn.