HTC has always been rubbish when it comes to battery, they're doing much better but still can't compete with the top in that regard. Also, unless you're playing with a demo unit that has never been rebooted or running on a sub 1Ghz processor, it'd be pretty unusual to have much jittering.
I have a Nexus S running ICS with similar internals to the iPhone 4 & find it a tad smoother while navigating, far superior with the browser though.
I also fail to understand how Android is intuitive, when Samsung's Galaxy range is selling as well as it is, its clearly good enough for the average Joe.
It also doesn't need any tinkering, but the thing I love about Android is that it gives you the !!!OPTION!!! to do so.
As for Microsoft's & Apple's stricter markets, it's kind of a double edged sword, yes you get more quality control, but its never guaranteed & you do miss out on some gems, not to mentioned that with Android, you're not restricted to Google's Play Store, you could use a 3rd party like Amazon or just download the software directly through the browser. It's not as if Google Play is as bad as iOS fans make out, sure it's missing things like Infinity Blade, but it still gets a fair few major titles & several exclusives itself.