The flannel quilts I have made I bought flannel bed sheets, washed them first and cut them up for quilt blocks--nothing fancy. They have all held up well. Leftovers I pieced together for backings.

Moda Woolies Flannel and Benartex Double sided flannel are my two favorites- both very good quality, very little shrinkage, I’ve never had any pilling issues- they are wonderful to work with. I’m not sure why you feel it a pain to work with- I make lots of flannel quilts and love working with flannel..
this is a favorite flannel quilt my brothers all wanted