Systemd has been a game-changer for small-scale deployments.
Why is this? My only memory of systemd was slightly better configurations for sequencing the start of processes that depended on the completion of earlier processes so I'm a bit rusty.
The deep integration into nixos made me feel the same. You sound like you could enjoy a bit nix too.
1. Nix has clear advantages for *deployment* (including end-user deployment) but really gets in the way for new *development*. Maybe flakes fix this? Maybe not though.
2. The "Nix on other Linux" install scripts were hostile in attacking startup scripts, rather than allowing opt-in isolation.
3. The Nix language (and library?) is not sane. Nobody actually understands it, only copy-pastes pieces of existing package scripts and hopes the changes work.Perhaps Nix is "Wonko the Sane" and it is in fact the rest of us who are in the asylum?
Nix, the language, is a little strange at first but really does make sense. Nixpkgs, the "standard library", is a little stranger and sometimes makes an odd default choice. The nice thing though is that using Nix you can coerce Nixpkgs into just about any shape that suits you.