Following instructions from the ASUS website I have carefully inserted brand new CPU into socket of brand new ASUS Z87-C motherboard and locked CPU in. I have than opened the socket again to check if everything was ok and, to my horror, discovered bend pins! This means that, unless I'm able to straighten out those pins and none is broken, my brand new mobo is now a piece of junk (no exchange and void guarantee ). I went on the net and have found dozens of post from people in similar situation and vast majority of them had ASUS mobos. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about first time tryers but about people experienced in building their own machines. WTF? Even if I have to buy another motherboard how will I know that the very same thing will not happen again?
I've had countless motherboards, and I've experienced bent pins a few times myself. I've been able to straighten them out, and they've been surprisingly forgiving - as the CPU has been able to function even if some of the pins weren't exactly "straight".
One time, it was due to a plastic cpu-slot cover that somehow bent a bunch of pins as I was removing it. I don't remember the brands, frankly, but I think this can potentially happen to all motherboards.
The way you're describing it makes it sound like it was your error - and as such, calling out ASUS based on some random forum observations sounds like confirmation bias. One logical reason why a lot of the people you've read about have ASUS boards, is that ASUS have gotten lucky with their reputation for whatever reason. A lot of people are telling themselves that ASUS boards are better.
My experience with ASUS motherboards is that they're simply more expensive and they suffer just as many little issues as any other brand. I usually alternate between GIGABYTE, MSI and ASUS - and I've had issues with all those brands. Yes, all of them. I'd say buying a board that's completely free of issues is actualy quite rare. I'd say 1 in 3 boards, for me, have been without significant issues. Usually, that's been due to me getting a luxury model - but not always.
Right now, I have a GIGABYTE board, and I can't for the life of me get it to OC my very OC-friendly CPU and my RAM refuses to function correctly at suggested values, so I have to give OC'ing up entirely. I don't know why, really, but after extensive research - I have to conclude it's the board.
If you want a solid motherboard, it'll cost you a bit more - but the actual brand is less relevant - as long as you don't go for something completely unknown.
Anyway, that's my take.