Agreed here.Motorola followed by the nexus devices. I would put the Motorola's above the nexus devices as they don't suffer from reception issues and various touch screen issues that certain nexus devices suffer from. The battery life is also very consistent on the Moto X. I attribute this to it's excellent reception. Poor reception will make a phone drink battery. I have a feeling this is one of the reasons why the nexus 5 performs so much worse than the moto x in real world battery life.
Motorola is the granddaddy of cell phones. Reception is generally top quality. Battery life is generally good since the RAZR MAXX. But what impressed from the Motorola was the Moto X (2014). I watched the video of that guy trying to bend it along with the iPhone 6, HTC One M8, and Nokia Lumia 1020. The Motorola was so difficult to bend. Zero noises or moving parts. Just SOLID.
HTC has the best aesthetics to me as phone designer. They are the pioneers of touchscreen smartphones and Android devices. HTC at #1, Apple #2, Sony #3, Motorola #4, and Nokia #5. Asus, LG, and Oppo are climbing up there. But when it comes to just solid hardware/build quality, Motorola is tops.