> When my internet service goes out in my home -- WiFi hotspot and no worries about whether I'm going to be throttled or hit an overage.

Amusingly, I've been getting pretty bad reception in NYC recently. Furthermore, in practice, I end up using way less than 2GB of data per month.

> Whatever new phone you get will be just as obsolete in two years as the GNex is now.

In two years, my Galaxy Nexus will be four years old. At the moment, I don't see a single Verizon phone worth getting (the are even issues with unlocking the HTC One on Verizon) and none on the horizon.