My two penneth worth...
I totally agree with Ed on one thing; speed is not the thing that matters most. I would put functionality first. Does the browser do what you want / need it to do? My principles tell me that I don't want to use M$. Unfortunately my needs dictate otherwise. If want to bank online I need to use IE. If I want to administer my domain without beating my head against a wall with frustration I need to use IE. If I want to administer my DSL line I need to use IE on a PC. Now I could use IE for these things, and an alternative browser for everything else, but why would I want to? I already use four different OS at work, and three at home; I'm not looking to make things any more difficult.
Open standards are good. Remember the roots of HTML. Your markup is supposed to be platform independant. It's supposed to be written in a way that doesn't assume someone is looking at it on a display. Would it not be better to focus attentions on web sites, and not web browsers? If the users encouraged web developers to use the standards the big companies would not be able lock others out in this way. This site for one could probably use a bit of scrutiny on it's HTML.
This does bring up a bit of a dilemma. In the same way that monopolies can stifle innovation, so can standards. If you can't do something new without agreeing on it with everyone else first innovation gets stifled.
One last point about ads. Another dilemma. I don't mind paying reasonable prices for services I value, but the fact of the matter is that many of the sites I visit are non commercial. Advertising revenues keep them alive. I hate ads, hence I want to block them. This drives under the some of the site I want to see. Here is my compromise. See it a guide to advertising politely.
1. Absolutely no pop overs or pop unders. This is just an in your face aggressive sell. In the same way that I won't go into a store where you are constantly harassed, I won't go to a web site that fills my screen with windows.
2. Banner ads are OK, as long as they do not flash. Nothing is more distracting than a page full of flashing or moving images. My own company is guilty of this (and over use of Flash), and I hate it. If the ads are still images I can choose to ignore them if I wish. You never know, if they are funny I might even read them.
That's my rant over.