I, too, use namecheap. In fairness I’m not as sophisticated as at least 95% of people on hacker news but it has certainly met all of my needs for the half dozen sites and 2 dozen domains I own
Not my experience at all. Every time I've opened a support ticket, the initial response has been fast and the problem has been resolved quickly (based on the 3 or 4 incidents I've had over around a decade with them).
I have purchased a hundred or so since I got with them almost 10 years ago, but keep about an average of 5-10 at any given time. Monthly spend is minimal, I pay for 2yr+ up front.
Can't speak for aliquot, mine is around a low hundreds of dollars per year across two accounts (personal and professional, not linked) and service has been exemplary.