I feel Postgres and SQL Server are easier to grok error states. Oracle seems to want to be an application platform more than a datastore

I don't have the experience to compare them to Oracle, but SQL Server and Postgres do have their own issues.

The infamous MSSQL "string or binary data will be truncated" error (fixed a while ago[0]), or the way either deals with unqualified access to columns which leads to surprises (e.g. in MSSQL subqueries or in Postgres's SECURITY DEFINER procedures).

[0] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/database-console-...

Oh indeed, they all have quirks.

Oracle seems to have more than most, IMO.

I have a journeyman data engineering level experience with each. Rare combo I guess, Data Scientist focus.

Exactly, Oracle should be chosen when business logic is written in sql/plsql

On Oracle most of the error messages are bad, not precise enough or plainly wrong. Basic things like a wrong error line (failure is on line 3, displays 5 or 6), messages that aren't related to the real issue. You're pretty much on your own.

Also, I had to switch to DBeaver since Oracle SQL Developer made things worse with random crashes and freezes. Back when I used it, an easy way to freeze the editor was connecting to a DB via VPN and then suddenly disconnect. The connection gets stuck, parts of the UI get frozen and after a while the whole thing freezes.

MySQL/MariaDB and Postgres are better.

To be fair, I had to switch to DBeaver for Postgres as well, as pgAdmin’s usability has been steadily decreasing since the first release of version 4. The lack of quality GUI is essentially my only problem with Postgres, though.