I've been really happy with NixOS recently due to the immutability, bit of a steep learning curve but once you get over that curve the immutability and reproducability is very powerful.
Is Vanilla configured similarly to Nix/Guix?
Discussion
The OS uses abroot in order to version the base packages and seal them in immutability.
It gives you all the benefits of Nix, including the nix package manager, without lockin.
I have packages installed from every distro simply because not every application/software stack/package is available in every distro.
This is the type of flexibility a LInux daily driver really needs.
You can read more about abroot here: