Be interested to know your opinion of the K1000 in this context. I actually own a Pentax ME Super. I can see that it's a bit too automated for your taste (the manual describes this new-fangled feature called auto-exposure, which requires you to first set the aperture, and then manually adjust the shutter speed until the exposure needle is centred). Unfortunately, despite a couple of attempts to have it serviced here in Brisbane, Australia, the electronics still don't work properly. Fortunately, I can set the shutter speed to a mechanical 1/125 sec, and adjust the aperture based on the sunny-16 rule, or from a a smartphone light meter app, and still use the camera. But manual exposure *and* manual focus ... will likely be too slow for most interesting scenes.

You may find the discussions on the Fuji X Forums at http://www.fujix-forum.com/ useful.

Impossible to answer without specifying the relative weights you assign to image quality, ergonomics, size, weight, cost, video capabilities, (prime) lens choice, available accessories, manufacturer support, etc., etc.

I think you should put an upper bound on the price of the camera (or camera and lens in an interchangeable system) for meaningful comparisons.

I once asked the brilliant Australian B&W landscape photographer RIchard White about the possibility of B&W digital sensors. He said that some photographers had removed the Bayer arrays from their sensors, but that it was still impossible to get printed results as good as he was able to get with his medium format film camera and silver-chemistry based developing and printing processes. The chemistry apparently makes a difference.

Anyway, what does it matter? Aren't you and your readers interested in photography, not cameras?

Obviously, I don't know what the definition of a small camera is, but I love my Canon EOS 450D with the EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens attached. This is very small for an SLR combo and is perfect for taking candid, shallow dof, portraits, without intimidating the subject.