Let's say...

[dark4181]

A company designed an Android phone with awesome hardware, which would you prefer for the OS:

1) Vanilla Android - plain stock, no mods
2) Custom Android - only "under-the-hood" changes to tweak speed and improve function, no custom skin
3) Skinned Android - what the typical OEM skin is like
4) Some combination thereof

Keep is short and sweet

 

[aysiu]

Vanilla

 

[dylando808]

Plain Jane Vanilla. or HTC's Sense UI.

 

[pr17]

Vanilla, but it doesn't really matter because I would root it and install MIUI as soon as possible.

 

[Usta]

Vanilla. I want to decide myself what skin to put on it.

 

[takeshi]

The option for the consumer to decide.

 

[rubiconjp]

Vanilla for me, from ice cream to Android.

 

[lunatic59]

Put the custom UI on if you must, but give me the option to get rid of it if I think it is awful. Don't try and lock me in to your aesthetic ... that's the other company's philosophy.

 

[djeaux]

Palm OS. The productivity apps on my original 1998 PalmPilot still run circles around Google's primitive vision of what contacts, calendars & task lists are.

<sarcasm>Oh wait, Palm didn't run Youtube...</sarcasm>

That said, if I must limit myself to a Droid OS, I think I'll go for Vanilla. Sense is pretty but they made some butt stupid choices (like 1 Exchange account).