As we get closer to the next big version (wherein most of the apocalyptic changes take place) I'll be reading HN for useful lists of alternatives. Anyone with useful suggestions can chip in now of course :)
I really don't see the fuss about it. If you don't like the new version, skip it. It's not like the next Ubuntu release will be more than 6 months after the current one.
Now that it's installed and I'm used to the package manager (pacman - which I like better than apt-get / aptitude if that's possible) I find that it's been refreshingly easy on a day to day basis. And I feel like I have a great deal more confidence that I know what's actually going on as far as installed programs and configured behaviour.
Of course, nowadays, I would suggest Mint, because Ubuntu is just weird. Their original motto, "Linux for Human Beings" should be changed to "Linux for Mark Shuttleworth". He's off in his own world now.
Stability is the biggest problem with Ubuntu I believe- people will generally adapt to the UI changes that canonical is making, but breaking stability is a complete no-no. Even today, on Ubuntu 11.10, Unity shows wierd bugs time and time again. Apps like VirtualBox and KeePassx will show multiple times (or just disappear) in the dock. And sometimes the whole unity interface will close and restart itself.
Compare this to the old gnome2, or xfce, openbox etc; You can go for months without the UI doing anything unexpected.
Is there anything Ubuntu adds that I would miss in changing to Debian? Not including the Unity interface of course.
That having been said, I like the idea of Ubuntu. I like the fact that they are trying to move the Linux desktop forward and I will happily return if they can get Unity straightened out. As it stands though, I'm a content Debian user for the forseeable future.
I wonder if there's some hardware issues, or something else you've got installed that's causing those problems.