I don't have much comparison but the last 2 mid-range phones I bought used them and I can't complain. I think they have the benefit of being cheap and also easy to use, putting lineage on my phone is pretty easy now compared to how it was with Qualcomm based Samsung

With a camera, microphone, GPS, accelerometer and touch screen? Yes I do :)

I did not know about battery idle mode, thanks. Would those phones work with the battery removed somehow? Possibly not.

I found a hack online for one phone with a removable battery, involving soldering a capacitor or something. Will test when I have time

No, battery will blow up possibly!