Never had either of these problems across phones or laptops. What kind of GaN charger are you using that has problems with overheating?
And even in that case, USB-C chargers and cables are available everywhere, unlike proprietary laptop chargers, If the ports are dying on you though, I don't know what to tell you. They seem fine on phones, so I can't see what the problem would be on laptops, unless there are specific models that just have horrible ports.
Sounds like Dells chargers are garbage. Yet another reason to stay away from Dell in that case. Never had this issue with any charger in my life.
Everything USB should still take normal 5 volts, which any charger should provide without needing negotiation, and anything larger that actually needs more juice also should have the appropriate electronics to handle that (i.e. it's a phone or a laptop or a tablet or similarly expensive device). If you have devices that don't fall into either of those categories, so they don't take normal 5 volts, or they need more juice but are picky about USB, I'd consider them faulty from the get-go, as it's clear they haven't actually implemented USB-PD in any meaningful way. And if your charger doesn't provide 5 volts without asking, it too is faulty.
It's hard to go wrong with charging cables when it comes to USB-C. I agree there's a mess on the data side, but the USB Forum can't even get its head straight with what it should even be called, so it's no wonder nobody there has the balls to mandate colour coding or something similarly helpful.
In this context I am talking about laptops and chargers, which are far less interchangeable. Phones are generally easy, but I would not trust my crappy dell charger to charge my phone without damaging it. What is the saying? In theory, theory and practice are the same, in practice, they are not.
Dell, they are not wonderful. I have one on a book because it can't sit on the carpet. The other one overheats no matter what, and I have to unplug it for a couple minutes every few hours or it angrily flashes at me and stops charging.
usb chargers and devices have many different voltages and power, and they don't always work very well together. It helps to have one format, but it doesn't mean no charger bloat. Cables are even worse, with wildly different specs, all looking exactly the same. They should require colored shapes or something on the cables to indicate their properties.