The machines you haven't had good luck with may have just been lemons. For however many good a company makes there seems to be a lemon pop up every so often. Just as any thing mechanical.
Don't put down machine quilting, it is the modern thing. I use to hand quilt, now at 66, I want to make 17 or 18 quilts a year to use up the fabrics I have, if I hand quilted them I would be doing good to make 2 or 3. I love making quilts and FMQ on my domestic machines and not worried about what others consider 'tradition', I've never been big on tradition anyway. I make quilts to suit myself and don't worry about what others think.