I read the Searcy vs Merkel thread and it seemed that the consensus was it wasn't a good comparison. I'm in Dallas right now and shopping for a .500. I spent some time yesterday looking at the VC with Jerome and Ken and also looked at the Heym. I'll get to Butch's booth today.

Would be interested to hear people's thoughts on these three and what might push someone in one direction or another.

I have owned one of each and my vote is for the Heym. If I ever buy another double it will be a Heym as well. However, if I was in the market for a pure Africa hunting rifle and didn't care how the rifle looked I would seriously consider buying a .500 NE Searcy if Butch ever offered his plain jane version again for $8,750.
I suggest you do a search as many things have been written about all three of the brands you are researching. There are a handful of shooters here who have actually owned all three brands as well as rifles built by other makers. These are the opinions I would value the most.

Butch isn't at the show this year.