Having used exceptions, like in java and python, checking error return values like in go and to some extent c, and using ADTs to represent error conditions like in rust, haskell, and scala (scala has exceptions too, but it's arguably more idiomatic to use Option, Try, etc.), primarily in application code, I by far prefer using ADTs. IMO it is a good balance between explicitness and verbosity. And ensuring you handle errors is built in to the type system.