The comparison with the Segger J-Link is not entirely fair if you use a fake J-Link instead of the real one. It is an expensive product but the value also sits in the included software and excellent support. In a professional setting it is definitely worth the money.

I stopped using the integrated debugging from an IDE because of the problems you described. Segger Ozone is doing a good job if you like a graphic interface.

(BTW nice to see you here again. I think we met at some point playing with a laser cutter next to your old office in Riga).

I've accustomed myself to openocd, gdb and some small custom scripts (e.g. interpreting fault registers)

Hehe, the world really is that small :) Say hi to Mark if you meet him, I haven't seen him in ages.

Lookw great! I used many footprints from SnapEDA before.

In many cases I prefer to draw the schematic symbol myself though. I like organizing the pins in a way it fits nicely in the schematic. It takes a bit more time to start but it makes the schematic cleaner and easier to maintain.

That's awesome to hear! Would love to chat at some point and learn more about your preferences with symbols. We'd definitely like to see if we could incorporate more user preferences there.