That's about what I did with Ubuntu 16.04 but there were more subtle
problems. I couldn't have gotten Icecat on at all if I hadn't created my
profile on a different computer and done a lot of stuff Ubuntu's target users
shouldn't have to do.
My needs are modest. I'm still on Trisquel 7 most of the time unless I
specifically need newer software for a particular task or just get that itch
for distro promiscuity. Flidas looked nice when I virtualized it, though, and
I got to play with a persistent USB stick of Uruk (downstream from Flidas)
that wound up going to the daughter with no previous Gnu/Linux experience.
I think I've outgrown needing "bleeding edge" for the work I actually do as
long as I can play sometimes.