In my experience AppImages will tell you when a new version is available and you can easily replace the old version with the new one when that happens. It's just a simple download. You're in control. Don't want to update because the new version glitches out or changed something you don't like? Just keep using the old version.

If you want bleeding edge upgrades, you're going to have to keep in mind the words used to described it. You're going to be the canary in the coalmine, dealing with bugs and oddities which users on slower update cycles don't have anymore because they use your experiences and bug reports to fix what breaks.

It certainly sounds to me like you're in your own way, and are putting the blame on devs instead of your choice. You want the newest packages but without bugs? That situation simply doesn't exist.