It's amazing for a "standard" that there can be so many non-standard ways to do it. Your explanation is great and just reminded me that cable tester tools are a really good idea to have at home. There was one in Kickstarter earlier this year, I think, that was a really smart idea. I don't recall what it was nqmed though. Maybe you have heard of it? I'll see if I can find it.

Regardless, there are some devices that really need a specific type of usb-c cable to function properly and/or not burn the circuitry. (i.e. Nintendo Switch, the original release model (though, they may have fixed it in later hardware revisions))

Edit: Found it! That cable tester that I was referring to was called the BLE CaberQU. I think it is a really neat idea.