> FWIW ... this is how counsel-M-x looks for me

FWIW, attached is how it looks with Icicles.

First line of current candidate's doc string is shown in
mode line temporarily.  (Hit a key to see its full doc.)

Otherwise, mode-line shows:

* Number of matching candidates (51, in this case).
* Current completion method (vanilla, in this case).
* Current sort order (alphabetical, in this case).

`Icy' lighter in mode-line indicates:

* Must-match completion, not lax (blue bars).
* Case-sensitive completion (`ICY' for insensitive).
* Multi-command (`+'): can act on multiple candidates.