I have had a hard sided wheeled garmet bag style suitcase (hybrid) from samsonite for 3 years, which became cosmetically ugly but never broke once. I received a similar larger Briggs & Riley as a gift and have logged over 30 segments with that now, with no visible damage.

I would recommend both brands. I do not know why there are so many stories or if maybe I am lucky but possibly having quality luggage is the most important. Or maybe it's important not to over stuff. But I have flown 100 or more segments with nothing damaged once. It is hard to think that AA is so bad.