The sad thing is that I don’t remember encountering nearly as many issues when I first started using Windows 8. Yes, there were some video driver issues when I upgraded my Envy x2 to Windows 8.1. But these were quickly sorted out by a driver update from HP. However, I don’t recall having as many problems with Modern apps running under Windows 8.x (e.g. no sudden "poof" events with the Mail client or Modern IE), and I certainly never experienced the kind of random freezes/lockups I’m seeing with Windows 10.
To be fair, Microsoft is trying something new with Windows 10: A rolling update cycle in which the OS is never truly "finished" but instead keeps evolving over time. However, I can’t help but feel that the Windows team perhaps used this new development mantra as an excuse for cutting corners and releasing a remarkably unpolished (for a full release of Windows) product. Maybe this new approach will provide dividends in the future, but right now it’s leaving a sour initial taste, one that may prove extremely hard for Microsoft to mask down the road.