> I probably have at least 70–80. Tracking what’s changed would be a job in itself, so I just update all plugins regularly

You and me have completely the opposite approach. You install everything you can get your hands on, I regularly prune my unused plugins to avoid bloat. I don't track what's changed: if I'm happy with a 10 year old version of a plugin, I don't see why I should update it.

> If a package breaks often, then I (and most other people) simply stop using it.

Unless there's a specific error message, how do you even know which package is responsible for the breakage? Ie a new visual glitch starts happening out of nowhere.

I do the same thing. I have maybe 7 or 8 that I use, favoring built in functionality even if it's interior to what a plug-in might offer