In recently started using Robinhood as an alternative to Ally (formerly TradeKing). Ally provided very little extra value to me in exchange for their transaction fees. And as a buy-and-hold investor, I don't really need much more than limit orders anyway.
What I do still need are better research tools, but my impression is that none of the consumer trading platforms provide anything very impressive on that front.
thinkorswim might be worth checking out for research/tools/charting/news. I believe it is free without a TD Ameritrade account if you do a "paper money" account. I think the only negative of that is the paper trading account is delayed a bit.
I am trying to make a difference in the problem area you mention. Would something like https://CoinQuanta.com (Alpha version) / https://StockQuanta.com (unreleased) be helpful towards your research needs?
Very curious to know what you're thinking when you think of better research tools
What I do still need are better research tools, but my impression is that none of the consumer trading platforms provide anything very impressive on that front.