Mind you, I don't own a Note 8, I have a Note II and bought a Note 10.1 2014 for my brother. The only reason I recommend it is because of the S Pen and the online reviews for it are not bad.
I think the Nexus is more hacker friendly and cheaper than the Samsungs although the screen is smaller.
Just check the cost of the G Pad and the Nexus before taking them out of the list.