The problem is that selection is still limited if you factor in OMEMO support (end-to-end encryption):

https://omemo.top/

Recommendations for good clients for desktop systems? Maybe my google-fu is particularly weak today, but I couldn't find a clear statements which clients outside conversations.im fullfill those (obviously only the IM suite, since mobile wouldn't apply)

https://gajim.org/ tends to be best for desktop (binaries exist for most desktop OSes).

For macOS, you may want to try Adium or Psi. Or you can use https://movim.eu/ which, though a web client, has fairly good feature support as well.

I second Gajim especially 1.0.0 version that looks good. There is also https://dino.im but that's still in alpha.

thanks you two, will give Gajim a try!

Remember to install some essential plug-ins (OMEMO, HTTP Upload, URL image preview, etc.) for the best experience :)