I mostly use ordinary alkaline batteries, usually from Costco, and haven't had a lot of problems. Off hand I can only think of one time I've had a light wrecked by leaking batteries, that was a mini-mag that got lost and then I found it again several years later. Maybe I'm just lucky? Of course it does tend to get dark up here in Alaska in the winter, so maybe it is just because I just use my lights often enough, and thus replace the batteries regularly.

I have various vintages of Princeton Tec, Pelican, and Mini-mag lights. I've had good luck with all of these brands. The newer ones are LED, but the older ones are not.

I also have an extra couple of cheap, older style flashlights I keep stashed in our cars. One trick I use with these is to reverse one of the two batteries while they are stored. Cheaper lights often have a not so secure on-off switch, and by reversing a cell they don't discharge even if the switch gets bumped. Of course it takes a moment to open the light and switch the batteries back. Alternatively, I have sometimes put a small tab of tape over the switch to make sure it stays off.