One of the biggest factors in me buying a Nexus 5X was to be guaranteed updates were delivered and promptly too, so unless you are already chained to a Verizon contract I wouldn't consider purchasing a Pixel that way. Why add a middleman to important updates? If you have decent Sprint and T-Mo coverage where you need to use the phone try Project fi and enjoy the best phone service experience available. The only downside is that pricing isn't the best if you use more than a few GB per month. It's actually a pleasure to read my monthly statement from fi, which fits neatly onto a single smartphone screen--that alone is worth ditching your major carrier plan.