Do you mean article directory? I use articledashboard and it's alright. Speaking of modifying templates - you can do it with knowledge of html/css. Speaking of modifying functionality - you can tweak a little here and there. I rate it 5/10.
Yeah I guess so, although i want this as an additional feature of my site, rather than the purpose of the site.
What do you mean by "code doesn't matter"? What criteria are you using to elect the best? Do you mean the back end code does not matter, and it can be written poorly, or do you mean the layout can be unvalidated html code? Any script can be made to be an addition to your site if you change the look of it, and use it for a sub section rather than the main section. More criteria would be helpful.
If you just want to use it as a feature you might be better off with wordpress. You can tweak it to pretty much however you want.