I'm not sure the issues you've had with FreeBSD as a desktop environment; while it's not as smooth as using the more mainstream GNU/Linux with some popular bloated DE, it is much faster and easy to configure, as you mentioned.

Specifically, I haven't had any issues with PCManFM (haven't dumped cores once ever on BSD) and while some other applications have had mild issues, it's never been anything too bad and not frequent enough to be of real concern. I should note I've been using PCManFM for probably years on a variety of systems, and it has been remarkably stable through all of them.

Using FreeBSD as both a server and desktop solution is a choice, for a better system that you can feel like you have actual complete control over. Linux as a system has become so complex you practically need a PhD to even begin to use a new distribution because everything has some proprietary gimmick to it that makes it "better" than all the other ones (see: systemd), but with FreeBSD and other original Unix derivatives, there is a sense of equality, of normalcy and balance. Everything makes sense [except for the ever-present X]. Even if it sometimes crashes into a pole, it's a balanced crash!

I'll admit, I come from a Windows-turned-Linux background, and I've only been using FreeBSD for about 5 weeks now--but I'm sold and I can't go back. It just feels right. While I can appreciate not being able to use it in a work environment, once everything is set up properly it's like logging in to an old friend that you share all your dirty secrets with. Only a few weeks in and I feel confident enough to tackle any problem that comes my way, even if it requires rebuilding the kernel and pouring over debug output.

I've made daemons in a few lines of sh, I've ran both Linux code natively though the ABI and Windows applications through Wine with resounding success (even some modern games), for things that need more care than Wine I've managed to launch in Bhyve. Overall each experience--while a challenge--has taught me more about the system, and unlike in other GNU/Linux setups where there's so much going on at once and everything has different syntax, FreeBSD has given me an even playing field and a host of guaranteed cross-compatible tools as it's base for me to build off of. Ports are fantastic as well, probably only rivaled by Gentoo Portage--which, if I recall, was inspired by BSD!

This isn't so much a disagreement or argument as it is an example of my own BSD journey. As someone that would consider themselves having a stable BSD desktop environment in just a few short weeks of starting from nothing, I just have to say it's worth it in the end

FYI, the applications that make up my "desktop environment" are i3, chromium, pcmanfm, urxvt, feh, ffplay, and zsh.

Keep up the good work, and God bless

P.S.: While I do mainly use pkg to install, when I do want/need to build something from ports, I usually just install the build dependencies (make build-depends-list in a port, generated based on config flags) from pkg before actually building, unless I'm building with debug flags and I think it would be a good idea. Why waste the time compiling gmake? This could be something you could try to save time when trying to compile a lot of ports. I'm sure many BSDivas would continue to waggle their fingers at it, but it did save me a lot of time, especially when recompiling huge ports like chromium.