Re: What's the difference between skinned vs. stock Android?
I'm the one who started this thread, so I still haven't navigated an Android phone, let alone a stock Android device and a device with a skin, but it sounds like the answer to your question is "it depends on what you value in your 'phone experience'". Are you a minimalist? Do you value a seamless operating system (as opposed to having apps take a bit longer to load)? If you answered yes to those questions, then stock Android sounds like your thing. Conversely, if you prefer something with more ornament, something arguably better looking (i.e. if you aren't a minimalist), with some standard widgets, maybe you would prefer skins. I think the people on this forum are pretty experienced with Android, and like most people like that, they prefer the bare bones stock Android experience, so there seems to be a bias on that side (in this forum), which may downplay the benefits of the skins (although everyone seems to universally hate the Samsung skin).
Coming from an iPhone myself, I expect to go with either the Nexus or the Moto X for more or less the stock Android experience. iPhones are pretty minimalist phones in my opinion, to this will probably be an easier transition for me.