[Xiaomi Mi Note 2  Guides, News, & Discussion] N3OMOD:
I have tried almost any Custom ROM out there for the Mi Note 2: I started with the MIUI-based ones and then moved away looking for something better, without so many customizations.

- MIUI Developer has been a quick-try, but I soon abandoned it. Too much bloatware for my requirements, slow developments and an overall grade of customization that rendered impossible using some android functions. (some examples: android pay, contactless payments with 3rd party apps, biometric advanced unlock not reliable, notifications were a total mess, background apps force-closed by system despite all settings, etc.)

- xiaomi.eu has been a nice start, but it is still very similar to MIUI and without significant improvements. Development is quite constant, but most of the times BUGs are depending on the source MIUI, hence most limitations are the same. Battery life is quite incoherent: for some weeks it may be fine and then for a couple of versions it could be terrific.

- Mi Globe has been another quick-try: it is just a basic MIUI with a bunch of “mods” stacked on top of it, all hold together with a bit of glue and some spare tape. A lot of “smoke” but quite often based on an old core. Definitely something I would not recommend.

- MIUI MS was even worse than Mi Globe in my opinion. Also, main support is non-English based.

- MIUI PRO did not made its way into the list of ROMs I could even consider. If I have to pay for a custom ROM, I would have stayed on Apple. But that is my humble opinion.

- Ressurrection Remix by Stonetrapper was the first Custom ROM that really gave me satisfaction, both with performances and graphical customization. Unfortunately it wasn’t officially supported, so updates were sparse and soon become obsolete. A major problem for me was the incompatibility with most – if not all – GCAM porting.

- Ressurection Remix by PSY was a brief try. I don’t like performances of the custom-tailored kernel by that developer: too much power-hungry. Also, there was the same problem with updates that I bumped into with RR.

- Tesla N was a nice experiment, but with too many bugs and an overall lack of following development. Battery optimization in the end, however, was really nice.

- AOSP Extended was another experiment soon to be deleted: lack of development, too many errors with too many applications.

- SlimROM has been a nice companion for a while, good performance, good battery life. But again, Kernel optimizations were too much power-hungry and in the end has become unstable for my usage.

- crDroid was just a burning star, at least for me. Tried and went over pretty soon. None of the purposed “optimizations” were significant for me, but battery life was among the best.

- dotOS never made its way after day 6 on my device. I wouldn’t recommend it if you are looking for stability.

- CosmicOS was a great ROM, I enjoyed using it while updates were constant. Then It became troubling with more recent apps, and has a lot of problems with recent GCAM ports.

- AEX has ben a kind of “hate-love” for me. Nice customizations, but in the end too many custom choices rendered it difficult to integrate on daily usage for me. (personally I didn’t find it smooth and lag-free as described).

- LineageOS has been my arriving point in all my experience with Custom ROMs: it has a strong Android core bringing all the most recent Android features and functionalities to my Note 2. It is kind of “barebone out-of-the-box” since there is no customization and you will need to tweak and adapt to your needs. It may require more time at the beginning, with a steep learning curve, but on the long term, it is worth the shot. I’m happily using the Official Nightly straight from LineageOS Download Page: updates are constant, performance is exceptional (provided you take time to iron-out some kernel optimizations according to your needs) and battery life is really good. There is full compatibility with GCAM ports (provided of course you pick the one which works best on Mi Note 2) and all Android Core Functions (like NFC Payments, that are crucial for me) works good. Plus, with some Magisk Modules I could choose which aspects – derived from official Pixel – I want to include and I’m really happy with the final result.

Please note that this is just a brief summary of my personal experience with the aforementioned ROMs, and thus it represents a personal opinion that has no intention whatsoever to diminish and/or deny and/or belittle he hard work of all developers.

I hope my experience could help you finding the best ROM for your needs.