my personal preference is Daggerfall.

1. the title you get with it is awesome (Lord, Lady)
2. its a little smaller and while it may seem like a drawback, it also makes it easier to decorate within furnishing limits
3. its layout just feels more livable to me. I can't state architecture preference, as I like Dunmer style as much as I like Breton, so its down to layout.

I have a vid of my own decorated Daggerfall if you'd like to see https://youtu.be/a2S0gSSlTHM

Personally, I prefer Ebonheart Chateau.

It's the manor that I have, and the interior is more spacious than Daggerfall Overlook. In fact, my opinion is that the chateau has the best interior of any home in the game outside of Earthtear Cavern! EC has an enormous hall with the second floor overlooking it. While the second floor overlooks the first floor in DC as well, neither floor is a large as EC's. And yes, three of the rooms in EC are in the cellar. But they don't come off as just a large cellar. In fact, I made the central cellar room into my master bedroom.

When it comes to the exterior, I prefer EC but it really comes down to personal preference. Sure, you have a view of the ocean with Daggerfall Overlook, but with Ebonheart Chateau, you have a decent view of a lavafall fro the tower. Daggerfall's Overlook's tower, on the other hand, has some fairly thick fencing that makes it difficult to enjoy the view from up there. EC also has a slightly larger exterior overall. But in a nutshell, I think the exterior comes down to if your preference area-wise is thee Stonefalls or Glenumbra.

Also, if you're not interested in the other two big homes available atm (Serenity Falls Estate and Earthtear Cavern), keep in mind that Pariah's Pinnacle and the Observatory Prior are probably going to be released within the next month or so, in case you wish to save for either of those manors.

Daggerfall was my pick of the three notable homes... then I bought Linchal lol. Still think I'll get DO next though.

I've really want to build a dock outside the trap door over the water!!

I like how it's not so dark, the outside is much more friendly for proper decorating and the interior feels more homely IMO.

Surely its more about Alliance loyalty?

Pact all the way!

If I may, I would also like to point out one more home that I feel, personally, is a steal: Hunding's Palatial Hall.

Sure, it is a large home and not a manor. However, it is quite large even for a large home. It's interior is quite nice, you can easily build a walkway to the roof and add an entire outdoor floor to it, like Daggerfall Overlook it has an ocean view plus a beach, and since it's a large home it will cost less than both EC and DO.

The only downside is having less furniture than a manor. However, if furnishings are one of the aspects you want most out of a home, then perhaps HPH isn't as good of an option as the other two. But like I said, it is at least worth considering in my opinion.