Thanks for the comment. I think what you've missed is that the attitude you describe is shared by a very, very small proportion of the user base - perhaps a few tens of millions out of the 1bn+ Android users. I had a go at estimating this last year: http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2013/6/5/counting-geeks-w... I tried to capture it in the 'people who don't like Apple' bucket, but as you say its a little more nuanced than that.
Fundamentally, the question is not 'why does a HN reader buy Android?' but 'what motivated the multiple hundreds of millions of people who bought a $600+ Android?' and as I'm sure you know, they're not using Cyanogen (though as investors in it we hope that changes;) Screen size is a huge factor.
Even for non-technical people iPhone has worse "lock in" because Apple tries as hard as they can to enforce lock in. For example, if you buy content within an app on the iPhone, the developer cannot let you access that content on a non-apple device or Apple will remove their app from the app store. The same is not true of Android.
I am the only HN/technical person on another large forum (not this), and the common thing amongst those members and the many real-world friends I have via that is that they are geeks for other things: cars, bicycles, watches, cameras, coffee, etc. This geek tendency carries to other areas, including smart phones.
I've definitely got a selection bias by having friends who are geeks (in the non-technical meaning), but there is still a bias in selecting arguments that excludes the existence of people who are geeks.
I agree with much of what you've said (and have said) and what motivates one way or the other... but I do think that your arguments don't acknowledge people who buy top-end Android, and do so without intending to buy into Google, or Samsung. With Apple and Amazon it's somewhat harder, buying their devices is to buy into their ecosystem.
The decisions I see them make is very much based on their desire to control their own things... the definition of control varies on a person to person basis, but it is the common factor.
On Cyanogen I personally do not run it, most of the benefits people seek can be obtained by rooting but keeping the stock ROM. This hasn't stopped friends from blundering through online guides though. That is the thing that surprises me, they're not technical, most work in offices doing admin/marketing/sales stuff, and they want top-end devices with the status that comes with it, but they really want to assert control over their devices.
Whomever allows those people to have control (officially or not) wins them, for that is one of their biggest triggers when choosing new devices and accessories.
Fundamentally, the question is not 'why does a HN reader buy Android?' but 'what motivated the multiple hundreds of millions of people who bought a $600+ Android?' and as I'm sure you know, they're not using Cyanogen (though as investors in it we hope that changes;) Screen size is a huge factor.