Considering ath9k is the most open driver available, I'd like to use that over others, but it seems like all the hardware with fast processors and extra ram is only available with ath10k or some other AC (closed blob) firmware.
Roll your own, for example and stuff it with what you want, including mediatek. Or a cheaper alternative.
That would be the stuff it with what you want part. AR9382, AR9582, mpcie card if you want ath9k
Does Up squared ship to USA? I don't see any info on this, just that it ships to select countries.
Assume so, I have my name up for one to CA, but it is a ways out (April??) for that device.
What kind of antenna setup are you guys doing with Up Squared for wifi router use?
So it seems you're looking around as well... Why not a Mediatek MT7621 board? 
Dualcore MIPS, 866 Mbps AC.
- DIR-860L rev. B1
- ZBT WG3526 (newer 2,4 GHz radio, should perform better in noisy environments)
The mt76 driver is open (with a minimal firmware blob).
You may find this video interesting btw, speaker is the same LEDE dev who maintains mt76.
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Wow! That video answered everything. thanks for posting!
Borromini, do you know the name of the driver that works with the MT7621?
I am done with ath10k and mwlwifi--no wonder these drivers have been such poor performers and unreliable! I'm def sticking with ath9k and will only buy mediatek for AC needs from here on out.
quick summation of what is wrong with the wireless drivers out there:
-ath10k: basically it's just a terrible driver (what was great with ath9k has not been carried forward)
-Broadcom: main focus on fullmac devices, no progress on softmac
-Marvell: comparable to ath10k, limited driver capabilities
-Intel: too much firmware, very limited AP support
-Realtek: limited driver capabilities
It's called mt76 is Github (OpenWRT repo)
Indeed really nice video. Props to Felix Fietkau and all other devs.
Why do you list only this 2 models, here are 23 models, pretty cool! (maybe not all supported, though)
I am starting to get hyped about mediatek devices 
Well there are more devices out there but not all of them are well supported of course 
Am I right that there has not been any significant progress in opening up these drivers in the past year, since Felix's talk?
I'm afraid you are...
No plans as of yet, was just going to see what the landscape looked like when they announce that units are shipping. Could be that I will just repurpose a router.