I had the ThunderBolt since launch day and sold it for few reasons, first terrible display when used outdoors. Sure its nice inside but you can't see a darn thing outside. Second, battery life. Yes HTC makes very good quality hardware, BUT, if you can't manage the battery life then its the mfg's issue and if they can't work it out then they should design it better. Finally BT, funny how important it is if you can't pair your new shinny smartphone to your 2010 Subaru. Seriously it fails.
Now those were my reasons for selling it, and honestly if the Droid Charge fails to impress or the LG is a joke I have NO problems returning to the ThunderBolt and continuing on with Das BAMF Remix and the custom Kernel.
Rooting is not for everyone, and you should NOT have to root to get your phone to work properly, again that is the mfg's job. Still a great phone it just comes down to choice.
As for LG, I don't think their products are terrible, Verizon chose the specs for a low end phone and I think people very seldom recognize that fact. The mfg doesn't peddle their wears, the carriers specify what they want and at what price point that want the phones to be at. The low end phones suck, and I don't care what OS it is, if its low end you get mediocrity at best.
Now we actually need the Droid Charge to go on sale or the Revolution either or at this point but we need more choices, not more delays.