[gnramires]

I use MATE, an old desktop environment descendant from GNOME 2. If I apply the principle of "It should last at least about as long as it's been around...", I can hopefully use it in peace :) (It'll probably look the same in another 20 years!)

I really don't see the benefit of almost anything else that came later (I did add an app launch shortcut that I rarely use). I also autohide most of the UI by default (bars and menus), so it's just there to do its basic function and allow me to focus. Performance is excellent.

That said, I think the main difference is mostly from community-focused development, it tends to bring out genuine usability concerns (which is why I think most *nix DEs work fine).