what to focus on when rating backlinks

With all the tools and manipulating metrics:
How do you guys rate a backlink / source of backlink?
I mean when you dont want to relay on metrics (which do not mean shit oftentimes).

OTTOMH:
Number of pages in the index from the backlink's domain.
Whether the backlink is devoid of 'nofollow' tags, and the page it's on is devoid of 'noindex' tags.
Whether the backlink appears in the raw html of the page rather than inserted via javascript.
The amount of unique text on the backlink page.
How many keywords the backlink's domain is ranking for.
Whether the page your backlink is being inserted on is indexed/cached or not.

Backlinks from sites in your niche are crucial. Check if the site has real, organic traffic..