Totally agree with your critiques of GNOME. I like the GNOME philosophy in some ways, and I've really tried to love their DE, but it has a few bizarre flaws that always push me away, usually toward Cinnamon or Xfce. I can appreciate "simplicity" and a clean, modern look, but I don't like it when a DE seems intentionally designed to make customization difficult or impossible, even for extremely basic things. It boggles the mind.