Different strokes for different folks. I prefer more control over certain utilities, and despite Mint MATE Menu not having the option of a separate software manager button, I’m still inclined to use Ubuntu MATE because I can install certain things without it malfunctioning, and there’s the guarantee of updates alongside Ubuntu, so things don’t act funky due to outdated software and libraries being used.
Linux Mint aims to provide a very stable experience, even at the expense of potential security updates which some people do not mind. Though, with custom software, custom libraries or custom revisions of libraries to make Mint’s own software usable, that may interfere with some other software as defined in package conflicts. Though with the recent development of Ubuntu Snap packages, as well Flatpak and AppImage, we may see a future where it doesn’t matter much for the end user how they begin, and the end user can choose freely how they end up.