Well it's obviously going to be better than the N4, most phones are better than their predecessors.
I get that the Nexuses are great budget options but I don't get the "buy it, ah heck the reviews" attitude.
Well I think they are odd as well.
The thing for me is that features like:
- runs AOSP, no manufacturer bloat
- developer friendly = CM will work in no time
are FAR more important than what reviews will say. So sure, I put up with the N4's crappy camera, bad battery, low storage, back sliding off the $60 wireless charging puck, etc. It's not optimal, but I'm not really eyeing another phone anyway. And unless the N5 is THAT bad, there's little chance of me buying a GS4 GPE even if that is my backup choice.
For people who could just as easily swing to an HTC One/G2/GS4 to a N5 or vice versa, yes I think those people should wait for reviews. You mentioned to me you do like some of what TouchWiz brings and that bloat isn't as big of a deal for you, so yeah I would think that for you, there's not enough out there in a Nexus to compel you to get one. For me, and probably some other users here, it's pretty much Nexus or nothing. BTW, I feel just like an iFan saying things like this.