[TeMPOraL]

> On the other hand, my Nest thermostats were bricked after a software update this week, so maybe today I'm starting to see a crack in my "auto update is best" dogma...

It works best when the vendor can be trusted to only push security updates and occasional quality of life improvements. In general, automatic updates tend to be a vector for bloat, user-hostile features (e.g. spyware), and user-hostile business practices (e.g. remote bricking).

[Wowfunhappy]

Which vendors fit this criteria for you?

I am not aware of any, except—somewhat ironically—for some open source projects.

[TeMPOraL]

> Which vendors fit this criteria for you?

None. Hence, personally, I dislike auto updates.

[walterbell]

Microtik has a “bugfix” security update channel that can be selected in their routers mgmt interface. They also provide a “current/stable” channel which delivers new features.