I like the way the stock browser renders normal webpages. I don't care for the 3rd party browser interfaces, and I don't think it's too much to expect the stock browser to be reasonably robust - for the same reason that I expect the default wheels on a car to be sufficient for normal driving.

You should give Dolphin Browser a try. The best mobile browser. Period.

I did. It's great. I still think the stock browser should 'just work,' considering that Google also makes Chrome. I want to evaluate competitors' offerings in terms of added functionality, not basic stability. It's a bad advert for Android, just like inferior wheels on a car would be a bad advert for the car manufacturer.

Very true. Since Google makes Chrome, which is excellent on the desktop, there's no excuse to let us deal with the 'Browser'. Android has always been a 'work in progress' and it's been too long now.