I went through the same debate and made some poor product decisions over the last few years. I've come to the conclusion that software/firmware and reliability are vastly more important to my enjoyment of an AVR than my imagination around sound quality. It's hard to describe how frustrating, primitive, and glitchy my NAD AVR has been. Tried the new Anthem AVR, also a work in progress mixed in with an absolutely bizarre engineering decision around their FAN implementation. Rotel's AVR ... not sure, it arrived and the LFE out didn't work. I've now bought the Denon 4800 and, at least so far, it literally does everything it's advertised to do. Flawless HDMI switching. Flawless CEC performance across multiple sources. Flawless video and zero audio glitches.
After owning some of those supposedly higher end AVRs, and a couple of pre/pros prior, I don't think I'll ever again buy a home theater processor that's not made by a big manufacturer, like Denon. They sell so many more units than an Anthem (or whatever) and surely employ many more engineers and software developers. On the software side, Denon's developers appear qualified (based on the function and UX of this 4800) to be writing code in 2023. I'm unsure the same can be said for NAD and the others. By all appearances, they are not. Denon has a much bigger slice of the market and all the extra real-world use equates to better testing, better software releases, and a better, more reliable product. I think the only thing that would make me pause before purchasing a Denon or Yamaha AVR is whether I was pairing it with 4 ohm speakers. In that situation, you may need a unit with a more capable amplifier. For me, I'd still get the Denon and purchase separate amp.