Easy and low cost is what most people are looking for. I know even pros who put their user-mixed Eboni-6 in a (used) wide-format Epson and print on bargain-priced, non-OEM, coated inkjet papers using the Epson driver. And they end up with excellent prints that are much less expensive than OEM inks on OEM papers. The fact that these prints will be far more lightfast is rather irrelevant for most of the market.
Focusing just on the paper, most people are better off sticking with coated inkjet papers. On the other hand, I do think the watercolor papers will probably outlive the coated papers, but it'll probably be a long time before that will be evident if the print is handled carefully. In the art market, the relative uniqueness of non-inkjet papers may have a lot more value than to someone just looking to make a nice print for display.
As to the flaws in the various paper types, I've probably had fewer problems with Arches paper fibers than with inkjet paper coating flaking off. With both types, there are good and not so good batches, and the current Arches bright white batch appears to be one of the not so good ones. Still, aside from what shows up in test strips that I dry with a hair drier, I don't think I've lost a single full sheet arches to a loose fiber problem. One of the advantages of a watercolor paper also is that they are far easier to retouch.
I always hang a good print overnight before bagging or framing it.
Assuming one is accustomed to QTR and has a good profile, the trickiest part of watercolor printing occurs when you want to preserve the deckle edge. Some think a watercolor paper with a floating type of mounting/framing so that the deckle edge shows has artistic merit. It takes some ironing and trimming to be sure that deckle edge does not touch the head and throw ink on the print.
I'm currently printing the limited edition prints for an artist who does pencil sketches on Arches (standard, not bright white). Not a single print has been lost to the issues that have been raised in this thread.
The variety of inks and substrates our inkjet printing opens up is one of the huge benefits of the technology, and exploring and pushing the envelope in that respect is part of what some of us simply enjoy doing. While this discussion is centered on Arches, in Gallery Los Olivos, my local gallery, it's the dyes on metallic paper that generate most of the attention. (And one batch of paper for that medium was defect also. It happens.)
If one approach causes more frustration than it is worth, move on to another. We have a lot available to us.
Paul