I wouldn't trust any VPN that won't let me tie to it via local address sock5 proxy. I like the safety net. Again, that's not a socks5 instead of the VPN, but a socks5 to the vpn.
I've been using PIA for 11 years, and was happy with it. I've tried NordVPN before, but it wasn't the way I wanted it. Now I got a very good offer from NordVPN and tried it again, and this time I went for it. It has become very good, has an incredible amount of new things to offer to secure me online. The speed is similar to PIA now, and I'm no longer denied access to my channels. So now I have 2 years to test NordVPN