...My biggest concern is that there are so many exchanges. How the heck do I know which ones will pay me after I make an exchange? I know I have to check their reserve balance, but what else should I look for?
You should not forget that in addition to centralized exchanges, there are also decentralized ones, using which you will receive your coins to your wallet immediately after making a transaction. Since there is nothing more reliable than storing coins on your wallet, therefore, using DAX is preferable for medium-term trading.
That is more feasible option but don't have much options in them and majority is having account on centralised exchanges as they are reputed and most widely used such as Binance and customer prefer to use them but its risk factor can't be ignored at any cost.So if you are into trading you need to use them but follow security steps or DEX.