Although, the Makarov is basically a Walther that works and shoots straight.
You said inexpensive and your reason is that you want something reliable instead of the Walther.
The Keltec P-11 was mentioned much earlier here. I have 4 of them and they get more accurate the more you shoot them. They are VERY accurate for me, for the size. They are very reliable. And with 11 rounds of 9mm they are in a class by themselves. They are small, light, reliable, fairly accurate and very inexpensive. They also have the integral clip, like a folding knife, that some people really like.
I have shot mine a lot with dozens of different kinds of ammo, including the Ranger +P+ HP and lots of WWB. It feeds these two and likes the law enforcement returns of Lawman and Speer +P Gold Dot HPs which mine shoot most accurately and reliably.
Personally I'd stay away from all of the .45s mentioned as they are far larger, not usually reliable (.45 lovers, like Harley lovers, tend to love to tinker on things as both of these things need a lot of continuous TLC in my experience) and the .45s are expensive - you asked for inexpensive.
YMMV but If I were to carry daily, as much as I love the Makarov and have several, I'm sure I'd end up with the P-11 Keltec every day.