I’ve heard a fair number of horror stories myself - complications and lack of communications to make you pull your hair out.
That said, just to show it is not quite a universal problem, I actually had a very friendly and responsive title company :). When I needed a copy of some missing documents related to a home purchase from several years prior I made a phone call to a helpful staff person who copied and e-mailed them to me in less than an hour.
Similarly when I sold that home it was a slightly more complicated process than usual as well as my first time selling a house. The title agent( same office as above )was very helpful and easy to deal with, answering a variety of different questions clearly via e-mail in a very timely manner. She made sure everything ran smoothly.
So, there are good ones out there and better experiences as well as bad.
Hey, I see you’re here in the SF area. Please tell me what company this paragon was (PM me if you’d rather not say it out loud). I’d love to steer some business their way.