You are using an unsupported (xanmod) - kernel.
sudo pacman -Syu
mhwd-kernel -i linux612
As a desktop - your system should be using the Nvidia driver - instead you are are using modesetting on intel.
The whole combination looks awkward - I think the clunkyness you are referring is your own doing.
I suggest you download the latest iso - boot as a live system - just to verify …
You can avoid using a removable device, see → [HowTo] Boot Manjaro ISO directly with GRUB
The package manjaro-get-iso provides a CLI style download/verification tool - currently only in testing and unstable branch.
→ Applications / Manjaro Get Iso · GitLab
→ [root tip] [Utility Script] Using python to download and verify a Manjaro ISO
Another option is the GUI styled app manjaro-iso-downloader
sudo pacman -Syu manjaro-iso-downloader