I own one. It is my main computer. I love it. I would recommend 3 models:
1. 11.6" Acer C720
2. 13" Toshiba Chromebook 2
3. Upcoming Cherrytrail-T platform
I have the Acer C720P, which is the 2GB model with a touchscreen. I do not recommend the touchscreen: it makes the screen dirtier, you accidentally hit things on the screen a lot (my thumb often hits the "X" button & closes my window when I adjust the angle), and it is not very sensitive (compared to other 11.6" Windows-based touchscreen models). Plus there just aren't a lot of apps that really use it...easier to just scroll with 2 fingers on the touchpad than to have to lift your arm to swipe the screen up & down with your finger.
The C720P comes in a few different flavors: 2GB ($243), 4GB ($279), 2GB with Touchscreen ($376), and i3 with 4GB ($324). 2GB is actually pretty usable; if you need one on a budget, the $243 model is great. If I were to buy today, I'd definitely spring for the 4GB version. I'm not sure if I would go with the Celeron or i3 though - the speed of the Haswell Celeron has been fantastic, the only real hiccup I've encountered is when I have 2 or 3 windows open with 10+ tabs each, the memory gets maxed out & it has to reload the pages as you visit them, so going with the 4GB would help that issue if you like to have a zillion tabs open.
It looks like they may have some newer revisions of the C720 out; I like it a lot because (1) it's extremely compact, making it easy to grab & go, (2) the battery life is phenomenal, and (3) it has great performance with the Haswell architecture. Doesn't get hot & isn't really noisy at all, just a really really great machine. The screen isn't the best (1366x768 resolution & not IPS), but the thin & lightweight nature of the machine, combined with good performance & great battery life, make up for it.
If you do want something with an awesome screen (1080p IPS), the Toshiba Chromebook 2 would be my pick. It has a larger 13" screen, which is the size I think I would go with when I replace my current Chromebook, although the compact 11.6" model is
really nice for toting around & using anywhere (like laying down on the couch while watching TV, haha) & the keyboard is very usable. Anyway, the Toshiba model's big advantage is a larger viewing area (13") with really great screen quality (IPS display) and much better resolution (1920x1080). It's also competitively-priced at $299:
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-CB35-B3340-Chromebook-Celeron-HD-Screen/dp/B00N99FXIS
If you're not in any rush, there's a new chipset coming out this year called Cherrytrail-T from Intel. The new Microsoft Surface 3 tablet got first dibs on it; it's a 14nm chip with great performance: long battery life, runs cool, and even has some graphics options. imo the next batch of Chromebooks will be really amazing due to this chip - just look at how nice the Surface 3 is! Super thin,
Broadly speaking, Chromebooks are a good supplement to a desktop computer. My wife keeps her desktop in the kitchen, which we share for projects & sitting. Like if I want to do a video editing project, I'll use the desktop, or if I want to sit & type for awhile (like neffing on the forums or whatever), it's nice to sit in a chair with a larger screen & an adult-sized keyboard. But pretty much, I do everything else on the Chromebook - banking, email, organizational stuff like Todoist & Evernote - so many things exist as web apps these days that it's pretty easy to make it your primary computer. I use the desktop PC for gaming once in awhile on Steam, but that's about it since I'm not a heavy gamer these days.
You mentioned that the Chromebooks you looked at were missing some specific features, what feature set are you looking for exactly?
