Off the top of my head I've had the Stomp go down and an amp die when gigging over the last 10 years.
As for QC improving, I'm not sure that I'd necessarily agree with that. Business these days is about making as much money as possible for as little outlay as possible, which is why so many things are made in the far east, corners are cut e.g. components are allegedly swapped out for cheaper alternative which has a knock on effect of reduced reliability. Things just aren't made to last, that way you go out and buy another one after a few years. It's how consumerism works. This probably explains, at least in part, my own failures plus the ones you've experienced e.g. the compressor pedal you returned for a refund, the broken USB port on your own stomp (though I still believe that this was damaged by the original owner). And of course, your Yamaha Nathan East, which was allowed to leave the factory with cheap gold hardware 😃