At the end of the day, some people are going to value getting the latest OS as soon as possible over having the absolute bleeding edge of hardware that you get with Nexus or GED's. I've been in both camps - I've had the Galaxy S2 since not long after it came out, which was the absolute cutting edge of 2011 hardware, and of course I had the G1 at launch, too, which was a GED.
Frankly, I miss having a GED and getting OS updates straight away. I took it for granted with the G1. Sure, the S2 blew me away and still feels like a very fresh device even using it today....... but I'd be lying if I said I haven't seriously considered trading it for a Galaxy Nexus. I want Jelly Bean, dammit. Sammy took WAY too long to get ICS up and running on the S2. For me it's only gonna be GED's from now on.