But I've tried both Mint and Ubuntu and the software updater constantly runs into issues very quickly after install.
I have a Blue-Build based custom distro (not many customisations tbh), that I'm planning to ship for my sister as well as me. So far, updates have been painless because it's just one base image overwriting the other. I have a feeling that that's where Linux distros in general is headed. I can imagine Bazzite being just right for you if you're into gaming.