. (Do I trust iCloud with my backups? Nope.)

Which is a shame, because if you had used iCloud, you would likely have avoided the issues that inconvenienced you.

Of course, there's no reason you can't use both iCloud and iTunes.

I have iCloud selected as my default backup choice, but before I install any major upgrade to my iPhone, I connect it to my Mac, go into iTunes, right-click my phone, and select "Backup" from the pop-up menu.