I have owned probably a dozen SMLE rifles. I always thought they were really neat and got my first one when I was 14. I have yet to see one that would shoot angle of barn! They are relatively difficult to clean and if you take one down to it's component parts, you will likely find small shims here and there the British armorer placed under the hand guards. They are there because they were trying to fix the rifles wondering zero.
I have 2 Turkish Mausers and each one of them will hold 4 MOA with cheap Romanian ammo. I have a "98 LaCaruna that has been drilled and tapped that with a good scope will shoot 10 rounds of 8X57 into a 2 inch circle at 100 yards. I have another FN Mauser that has been rebarreled to .25-06 and shoots into 1 MOA with my handloads. Try that with a SMLE.
"Better" is a subjective thing, but one way to tell which is more popular is to look at how many after market products (triggers, stocks, springs, firing pins, etc.) are available.
As far as the "best" WWII rifle, I vote for the following:
1. M-1 Garand
2. K-98 Mauser
3. M-91 Moisin Nagant
4. Type 99 Arisaka
5. SMLE
