A good nigorizake begs to differ! 
But yes, I prefer my liquid rice fermented on its own than fermented in beer.
I just made a very, very delicately hopped Helles that was originally intended for a BMC-friendly family event. Drinking it lately I find myself wishing for actual, serious flavor! I went so far to mix in some lemonade the other day…sure a Radler may be a bit of a wimpy drink but at least it tasted like something!
I’ve never tried brewing anything with rice so it’s hard for me to pass judgement. I am not a Bud fan but I would like to compare (blind tasting) it to an all malt lager just to understand the subtle nuances of rice and barley.
My favorite Sakes are the cloudy unfiltered variations. If that was all one had to drink believe me subtleties would make themselves known.
As an adjunct in my experience rice lends a certain crispness to the brew. However it isn’t all that cheap anymore, I’m not saving much using it.
IIRC, Bud doesn’t use a set recipe- but uses whatever’s cheapest and available at the time. Then they blend.
A pretty good indicator of the differences would be a side by side tasting of a few products from a single brewer
…in this case I recommend the much beloved AB-InBev :o 
Bud (rice)
Busch (still made with corn, I believe)
Michelob (all malt).
Seems such a session would tell the tale quite effectively!
I guess it depends upon whose lager. I’ve certainly enjoyed an Old Style at Wrigley field, and my local Yuengling Lager is perfect with a pizza. I’ve had a number of region American lagers that really hit the spot. As for Bud-Miller-Coor, not a chance of me to drink. Any beers that require my attention with a vortex bottle, cold indicator cans, see thru boxes, or some other non digestible feature surely is not worried about the taste aspect. Hence my negativity, anyway against mass produced American lagers.
I’ve brewed an American lager and enjoyed it. BMC crowd thought was too heavy - he he he.
i like bud, i like busch, i like the old schlitz malt liquor. do i reach for them often. not much but they have their time and place. i would just as well drink water out of the shower head before i spent money on a perrier. and just because it is brewed by a small craft brewery it can still suck. i routinely give stuff away that i won’t drink.
Much like Wonder Bread and Cheeze Whiz, mega corporate brew has it’s place. I don’t want to eat or drink them often, but it’s good to have them around when I’m in the mood for a cheeze whiz sandwich and and an ice cold bud lite.
I agree, those are the nigori type. They have an almost fruity, sweet complexity to them. I need to get another bottle and queue up a bunch of my favorite Kurosawa movies!