I'm tired of GNOME messing with it's API but hopefully this is the last time since they're switching to a standard system. Besides that, it's my favorite DE on Linux. I have to give plasma 6 a shot when it comes out but right now GNOME feels just right compared to other desktops.
Gnome is phenomenally stable considering it's a modern desktop.
You only really get more stable by going to XFCE or something, which is basically on life support at this stage.
Literally the reason why the Linux world went from Plasma being the standard to Gnome being the standard is because KDE was an unstable mess and Gnome was super stable.
Gnome doesn't have an extension API. That is why it is prone to breakage, since the code is injected into the actual shell. The upshot of this is that extensions can do pretty much anything. The downside is there is no stable API.