I’ve been using Hugo for 7 years on multiple static sites. It has been a joy to learn and to use. I struggled with Jekyll previously along a number of the dimensions OP lists - complexity in the tool chain when there are weeks or months between new posts.
As a number of others have mentioned - pin the version of Hugo you use for a particular project. I do this and it works great for stability. Then I upgrade when I have the time or the need or I want to standardize across projects.
As a number of others have mentioned - pin the version of Hugo you use for a particular project. I do this and it works great for stability. Then I upgrade when I have the time or the need or I want to standardize across projects.