What local model do you still use after the hype wore off?

Every time a new model is released, I tend to check it out. The benchmarks, readme, or whatever seem pretty convincing, so I download it, test it for a few hours, and then I just go back to the same couple of ones I already had.

Curious what models people here have actually kept using for weeks, months, or even longer. And not just that - but why? Was it because of the speed, writing style, VRAM use, long context, a specific feature, or whatever - and also why not competitor models?

Also interested in models that seemed amazing at first but, after trying them, became really annoying.