Give the devs a special flair and kick them out of the mod team.

BEFORE YOU DOWNVOTE: I do NOT think/know that there is any particular precedent for the devs abusing their mod powers! But in my opinion a subreddit should be moderated by impartial community members that have a direct line of communication to the devs AND NOT THE DEVS THEMSELVES.

I like the devs! But having them in the mod team will always throw off people and make them hesitate to say their mind. It has nothing to do with their personalities. It's the same reason why don't let a judge decide of the murder case of his/her own daughter. Prejudice.

Even if anyone could somehow guarantee that a dev is being unbiased and never abuses their powers: They are not even in a good position to do their job as a moderators. Because they are, who would've thought, pretty busy people.

The devs should be special guests on here with their own flair and possibly a marker that adds a flair to any thread they post in.

As for the flair: https://www.reddit.com/r/modhelp/comments/1tf1e1/how_do_i_give_a_special_flair_to_someone/
There is plenty of help out there to modify a subreddit.