[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vertigo_2_20:
Here's my 2 cents:

I've used Go Launcher for the past 2 or 3 years probably, and really like it. It looks nice and has lots of neat features. That said, it is bloated and has ads in the free version, the paid version is more $ than others, and it is slightly more laggy than Apex, Nova, and Holo. After repeatedly adding new permissions without explanation, ignoring emails inquiring about those permissions and emails with suggestions for improvements (not to mention emails regarding their messaging app were also ignored, causing me to abandon that a while back as well), I decided I was done with Go products.

I tried Apex, Nova, Holo, and ADW launchers and examined all their options, capabilities, and performance in depth. Apex and Nova are indeed very similar, though at least for the options and capabilities I was looking for Apex came out slightly ahead, and so it's the one I bought. If Nova caught up and surpassed it in development to the point it had more of the features I want, I would easily switch over, and would likely not notice much difference. It was a close second. They do seem to be created by the same person/team, they are that similar. In fact, one thing I really like about them, that they both do, is under the description in the Play Store they actually explain all of the permissions they use. Very few developers do that, even though IMO they all should. To me, this alone is worth supporting them, and I may buy Nova just because of this.

Apex, Nova, and Holo all seemed to run with less lag than Go or even ADW on my phone (Galaxy S4, rooted with bulk removed, stock speed). Holo is nice enough and the cheapest option, but is missing more of the features I myself want compared to Apex and Nova. I personally didn't care for the majority of how ADW was designed, not to mention it's lagginess (in my experience, YMMV). As a personal preference, I dropped it from the running. Apex/Nova were found to be missing a few features I've come to enjoy with Go, but nothing terribly critical. Some things I originally thought they were missing were simply buried in menus, and eventually with enough searching and playing I found them and was able to do things I grew accustomed to with Go, as well as things Go can't do, some of which make me now wish I'd ditched it sooner on. Apex and Nova (and possibly Holo and ADW, but I don't remember now) also warn you when adding a widget that you're giving the launcher access to the data on the widget. Go doesn't do this. Just another example of how Go doesn't seem to care at all about user privacy. I personally won't ever use any of their products again.

As I went through messing with each launcher, I created a list of features that were missing for each one that at least one other had. As I would go through and found other features in one that I liked, I would go back and check the ones I had previously gone through to see if they had it, and if not added it to the list. I intend to email each list to its corresponding dev with the hopes they make some of the changes. Keep in mind this is a list based on MY preferences, so it may be useful to you, or it may not, but here it is:

Holo - $3.20

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-On other launchers I use 7 rows by 4 columns in order to be able to adjust the sizes of widgets the way I want, with varying results. With Holo, this causes the widgets to overlap, and I can't fix it by adjusting the vertical or horizontal margins. This needs to be fixed; alternatively, or additionally, it would be great if resizing widgets wasn't restricted to increments determined by the number of columns and rows, but rather could be done to any point.

-Make indicator on home and apps screens interactive to jump to certain screen (if enough screens in app drawer, have it become a slider to quickly scroll to a screen)*

-Folders in app drawer plus option to sort drawer with folders first

-Put hidden apps at top of the list so they can be found easily

-Ability to remove Widgets tab (I realize it may be possible with paid version)

-Option for random animation so it changes each time (allow selecting which ones to choose from)

-Phone, Contacts, and Messaging icons in dock should bring up window to select which one to open if there are multiple apps that perform those functions

-Configuration presets

-Rotate CW/CCW gestures

-Stop menu from popping up when long-pressing menu button

-Allow disabling of message popups when locking/unlocking desktop

-Allow selecting folder for backups

-Running apps tab in app drawer with ability to kill tasks*

-Long press in app drawer allowing direct uninstalling of app*

-Overhaul the screen editor**

*See Go Launcher for example

**See Go or Apex Launcher or, secondarily, Nova for examples

Nova - $4

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-Make indicator on home and apps screens interactive to jump to certain screen (if enough screens in app drawer, have it become a slider to quickly scroll to a screen)*

-Ability to remove Widgets tab (I realize it may be possible with paid version)

-Option for random animation so it changes each time (allow selecting which ones to choose from)

-Phone, Contacts, and Messaging icons in dock should bring up window to select which one to open if there are multiple apps that perform those functions

-Add gesture to swipe down on dock icons

-Configuration presets

-Allow resizing widgets to any size, not just in increments based on # of rows and columns

-Allow selecting folder for backups.

-Options to include in or hide from menu: Edit screens/tabs, Lock/Unlock desktop, Search, Hide apps, etc)**

-Running apps tab in app drawer with ability to kill tasks*

-Long press in app drawer allowing direct uninstalling of app*

*See Go Launcher for example

**See Holo and Apex Launchers for examples

Apex - $4

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-Make indicator on home and apps screens interactive to jump to certain screen (if enough screens in app drawer, have it become a slider to quickly scroll to a screen)

-Configuration presets

-Gestures: Rotate

-Allow disabling of message popups when locking/unlocking desktop

-Option for random animation so it changes each time (allow selecting which ones to choose from)

-Phone, contacts, and Messaging icons in dock should bring up window to select which one to open if there are multiple apps that perform those functions

-Allow selecting folder for backups and multiple backups (named with date/time). Include widgets in backup if possible, if not provide option to auto screenshot desktops for future reference when setting back up.

-Make Root Helper optional addon or in some other way make superuse permission optional. I don't care about adding widgets from the app drawer as I can and prefer to do it through long-pressing the home screen, and I'd prefer not to give the app SU.

-Running apps tab in app drawer with ability to kill tasks*

-Long press in app drawer allowing direct uninstalling of app*

*See Go Launcher for example