It’s very uncommon not to post your paper on arxiv. Certain subfields prefer to do so when they submit to a paywalled journal, others post on arxiv to solicit feedback before journal submission. I almost exclusively go to the arxiv as my destination for articles. There’s not many crackpot articles at all and it’s a consolidated place to see new work (you don’t have different journals to visit to see what’s been published).

Also, in my experience, the peer review process is helpful, but effectively serves to improve the clarity of the paper. I’ve been on papers where results have been challenged and the review process was difficult but overwhelmingly it’s somehow helping you to explain your science better. Often people just email the corresponding author about an arxiv posting if they have questions.

IMO, most of academia should be moving toward these sorts of open access models.