I’m currently writing this on the MATE desktop. I started with linux on the gnome 2 desktop, so it only makes sense. A long time ago I used Xmonad (a tiling window manager) but tiling has less appeal for me now. If I need/want a lightweight solution, I use CWM (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cwm_(window_manager), which was originally developed on OpenBSD, but is usually available across different Linux distros and BSD’s.
I’ve tried pretty much every DE/WM under the sun at this point, and would be interested to know what you use and why
For most people, I’d probably argue yes. Personally I’ve had less issues with screen tearing, and the environment looks a tad nicer (in my opinion). I don’t really use the extra functionality though, so if I’m trying to eek out just a little more performance XFCE is still my go to.