[Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 3] micmars:
You had to bait me [MENTION=2386796]kingdazy[/MENTION] with this wicked good question from [MENTION=965563]mainstang[/MENTION].

For this I'll assume that you've tripped Knox. Also, though these are limned in a discrete manner, they have commonalities that break over each. Still, there is sufficient differentiation to attempt to categorize. Furthermore, while this is an attempt to observe, remember that for the vast majority of devs, they work tirelessly for your benefit. Thank often, show respect, and try to avoid dev fanboy traps. These guys are doing a ton for little reward beyond conquering. They all deserve respect.

So...here is my view of the matter, which should be taken with a heavy dose of reticence, inasmuch as it's my opinion, which is convenient, since I'm also an a-hole...

TouchWiz...

1. Heavily Themed Roms: sort of an all-inclusive setup, the rom cook is perhaps gifted at development, theming, or both, but none is a one-dev show, as they are borrowing (hopefully the best) of what others have wrought. User experience is typically excellent, but expect updates, especially if the rom has themed apps that update often. These needn't be viewed as an all-or-nothing endeavor, but they were perhaps designed with that goal in mind. There are true graphic artists out there; just look at the work they do to make all of those images work in concert so that your phone will never be defiled by Sammy's disgusting color palette. And the images are only part of the story. Finding the code that allows for your text to appear nicely in every place on the phone is a daunting task. Battery life and performance can be awesome. Most everything works perfectly.

2. Performance Centric Roms: The dev is making something with performance in mind, and typically is less concerned about theming and more focused on performance and sometimes incredibly creative features. You'll get snappy performance, great battery life, and typically a smaller footprint. As to theming, you can do that post hoc, by grabbing a bit of what you like, adding inverted apps (camblue, Gunthermic, Kryten2k35, Team BlackOut, many others, and most of these are TBO members anyway), and flashing things like Blue X, Black Chrome, &c. In general you'll get fewer updates, but when they arrive, it is more often adding cool new stuff as opposed to an updated themed app.

3. Stock Rooted Rom: Whether DeOdex or Odex, grab the entire build and make whatcha want. Freeze apps, replace them, add inverted apps, boot animations, sound mods...hell, if you're feeling adventurous, push framework-res.apk and SystemUI.apk from any rom hewn from the same stuff (MJ4) to the stock rom and you have a new rom just for you. Caution on the former file, push it from recovery, reset permissions on first boot.

4. Additional Tools: kernels, Xposed modules, sound mods, just endless choices. Rip it to the ti+s.

AOSP roms...

1. Official Nightlies: Pure KitKat love, fast, lean, and some may label them bug-laden to some extent (oftentimes unfairly, since by definition, an AOSP rom just isn't designed to be a TouchWiz copycat). Use if ya dig it.

2. AOSP Offshoots: There are at least a few. They all take a bit of this and that, some eye-popping cool going on, just select your brand of cool before you choose.

A final word, this is a relatively new device just taking hold, and we already have a strong variety of choices. None is best, but one, I bet, is right for you.

Hope this helps.

Happy flashing!

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