For a recent project (with modest needs), I just used a short makefile[1] and plain ES5. I found the experience refreshing as there is definitely peace of mind in depending on one less black box.

There is indeed something uncomfortable about a big node_modules directory or a magic build tool. It's almost like bathophobia, where instead of depths there is 3rd-party javascript code.

[1]: https://github.com/gvalkov/tailon-next/blob/master/frontend/...