I see critical thinking as a combination of separate faculties: entertaining possibilities, analyzing them, and evaluating them. Ideally, the process works fluidly as you reform your worldview - even if the only change in perspective winds up being the acknowledgement of someone else's. (Just recognizing what the perspective is and why it's there).
That said, it surprises me that Ne got thrashed in the polls, since even though it can be fickle, it suspends ideas in the mind's eye in a way that is separate from the core of one's worldview. It reflexively reaches out for alternatives, never quite content with being spoon fed.
Ne aside, Ti seems to be where it's at, since it boasts some of the aforementioned properties of Ne, while taking a systemic, structured route.
While I recognize that plenty of INTJs on this website exercise a decent amount of critical thinking skills, Te often takes ideas for granted on a subconscious level, equipping them for combat, but dropping them when they outlive their usefulness, where Ti might find a way to sharpen them until they elevate independent contemplation to an art form. Mental masturbation? Maybe. Probably. But even when it's idiotic, Ti resembles most of the same properties as critical thought.
Honestly, I believe that critical thought can incorporate any function, but absolutely needs T,F and Px.
Fi is simply critical. But yeah I do think my own type is an excellent candidate for one of the best critical thinkers. I rarely salvage anything worth bragging about in terms of being an INFP, but there it is and it feels good to say it.
But I think INTPs take the cake here. I'm not sure where Se stacks into all of this, since it should be effective en tandem with Ti especially. So I wonder, [MENTION=8413]Zarathustra[/MENTION], if your bias about Se is heavily formed by it being your inferior.
I would speculate that I have some bias regarding Te (Te doms tend to put me to shame when they implement their own brand of analysis, mostly because for them it's typically not a point of stress or a counter-phobic reaction), but you seem to be in agreement with me here on most of your points despite being an INTJ.