The better tripods have separate leg and head sections. You basically buy the base appropriate for you needs and then separately buy the head appropriate for your needs.
There are three general categories of head types:
Pan heads come in 2-axis (can pan left-right and tilt up-down but NOT tilt sideways). The two axis is generally used for video. The 3-axis is the same except it can also tilt sideways and can be used for still cameras.
Ball heads are, as the name implies, a ball & socket design. This means the positioning of the head is almost limitless and there's just one knob to loosen and tighten the head (instead of 3 on a 3-axis pan head). Ball heads are generally the preferred head for still photography.
Gimbal heads have an arm which comes out and up the side of the camera. They have a platform/cradle which can effectively "swing" on the head. They are 2-axis only. They are really designed for heavier loads such as very large lenses. They can be adjusted so that the camera & lens center of gravity is completely neutral to the lens. That means you can point the lens anywhere, let go (without tightening the clutches) and the lens will just stay put... as if it's floating. They're ideal if you have to follow action because they don't have to be tightened down to hold the camera in place.
I have a couple of ball heads and a gimbal head. I only use the gimbal head with long lenses. MOST of the time I use the ball head. I used to think the pan heads (which are the most common on low-end tripods) were great until I got used to the ball head. I really love that that the ball head has a drag control (sets minimum tension for when I loosen the ball so things don't just flop) and yet I can lock the ball in any position with just a single large knob.
I'm wondering if perhaps you haven't found a good ball head (there are some tiny ones that aren't that great, but the large ones are a pleasure to use.)
Most of the decent tripods come with spikes that you can thread into the legs so they'll "stick" on slippery surfaces.
Also... the quick release plates tend to be proprietary _except_ for the Arca-Swiss style dovetail plates. I now have multiple plates for my various lenses and bodies and wont buy any head if it doesn't have the arca-swiss style standard plate.
