First thing, if you're going to whip up a maxim, it should be The best code is maintainable. Better when you start out with a truism. Can't say as to how anything you've said is arguable—all good rules of thumb to follow, with one small quibble. You said:

“Minimal commenting explaining what variable names do not”

Would suggest you change Minimal to something a good deal stronger, say like Sufficient for instance. Small change, world of difference. If you make the change then it follows that the person who decides what sufficient, is the maintainer, not the programmer (skipping the obvious case.)

hsm