I can only speak about minimalist distros, but Debian is my go-to desktop Linux. If you want a minimalist and stable (even on unstable/testing branches) desktop, it's the best option IMHO. Arch Linux and Gentoo are rolling release distros. For Arch Linux, if you don't keep up to date with the updates, you could fall behind and cause package problems since they do not store archives of old packages. There are third party sites that do, but installing them correctly on a few packages is a pain in the ass. Arch Linux is where I have the most experience with rolling release distros, and I have hosed 4 computers entirely by skipping a version of the "filesystem" package, not even at the same time. I have also had endless regressions in the kernel (monitor stopped working on my laptop for ~1 year, had to use the laptop as a desktop during that time (I couldn't format without doing extensive backups)). The touchpad drivers regressed multiple times and would not work, and ACPI also regressed leaving me knowledge-less about battery usage, no brightness controls, and no suspend features. Posts on their forums get ignored for the most part as well, since it's populated by users who have no knowledge of the internals of the OS. I have little experience with Gentoo, but as a rolling release distro I tend to avoid them all now. Debian provides a large package repository with very little issues in regressions in my experience. That being said, Arch has it's benefits. AUR is amazing if you use aur-git, which basically turns AUR into FreeBSD ports on crack. I have heard there are Arch Linux derivatives that create some stability (Antergos, for instance) for releases. I still choose Debian every day of the week for desktop use, though.
Another example for why Arch Linux is awful. I ran "pacman -Syu" as usual four days ago (Monday) since you have to do it all the time, and the kernel stopped recognizing my USB keyboard and mouse when I plugged it in just now. They weren't plugged in at the time of upgrade, so the modules were not loaded. I generally put my laptop into suspend and leave it that way for weeks at a time, maybe reboot once or twice a month. "lsusb" detects the Logitech Unifying Receiver, so it's connecting just fine. I plugged the dongle into another computer, and the keyboard and mouse work just fine. I did some investigation, the most recent upgrade also upgraded the kernel. Okay, fine, not usually an issue. I just noticed that "/lib/modules/<oldkernelversion>" is completely missing, and only the new one remains. That means I have to reboot to get my keyboard and mouse working again just because pacman decided to wipe out my old modules. NO other distro I have ever used has ever done this. Linux is supposed to remain stable, even after upgrading. Things are organized in most distros so that it can remain booted and running just fine even during upgrade (and you can have 6+ months uptime if necessary), while the next boot will boot into the newer kernel. There weren't any warnings, either. I wasn't paying attention to what packages were being upgraded because I normally don't care unless there are serious security vulnerabilities in the kernel (or running programs). Keyboard and mouse aren't the problem, what if I urgently needed some other peripheral device? What if other modules need to be loaded for stability? The modules for my current running kernel are literally GONE. Deleted intentionally by the package manager. That's not even a regression, that's a sign of bad design. Unacceptable. I just don't have time to reformat. EDIT: Confirmed. Reboot fixed keyboard and mouse. Also caused a regression in X11 that required some tweaking of X settings. Stability is atrocious. That's why I didn't run "pacman -Syu" very often in the past, but doing so meant that I eventually crashed my machine. I can no longer support this distro. I'm going to do extensive backups tonight and migrate back to Debian.
Yeah, that's something I learned the hard way. With Arch, you pretty much have to update everything before installing anything. Otherwise, you get caught behind and all your mirrors fail to find the outdated dependency you need.For Arch Linux, if you don't keep up to date with the updates, you could fall behind and cause package problems