My almost 5 year old iPhone 12 does all of this. No issues, no pull towards upgrading except for USB-C.
If you're talking about charging a phone, the usb-c ecosystem is literally never going to give you even a single instance of annoyance. If you're talking about lightning and laptop sized power delivery then, yes the cables need better labeling, but all of those cables are going to work for charging a phone.
How they managed to convert the simplicity and reliability of 20 years of USB-A into this mess is anyones guess.
If you're buying them in bulk on amazon, usb-c is still more expensive than lightning, but the vast majority of people tend to buy cables when they have either lost, forgotten, or broken their existing cables. Go to a shop at an airport or train station and they'll charge you £20 for a cable, and people but them.
The "apple tax" is irrelevant to the actual amount paid.
My headphones are USB-C and by far the most unreliable. The switch uses USB-C too, but that sits in its dock.
My laptop will use USB-C, but only for some combinations of cables and chargers.
If USB-C was as reliable and dependable as USB-A I wouldn't have a problem.