gdanmitchell
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The "looseness" of Fujifilm EC dials has been an issue on virtually every one of their cameras. It is such a long-standing and known problem that Fujifilm should really come up with a solution. Stronger detents would do it, as would some kind of "locking" mechanism on the dial.
The good news is that you can train yourself to keep track of the dial's position and do a quick check when you take the camera out. It also shows any EC offset in the viewfinder, and you can try to remember to check this.
On the other hand, the fact that there IS a EC dial is an indication that Fujifilm still mostly uses the very useful non-PASM interface on these cameras, where all of the basic settings are immediately visible and changeable via physical controls.
As to the XE3... like all (Fujifilm) cameras, it is a compromise. The compromises don't affect the quality of the images you can produce with it — they are equal to those of any other Fujifilm camera with the same sensor, which is pretty remarkable. The compromises mostly involve the slightly less capable physical interface and potential difficulties handling the smaller body.
But the small size provides a compensatory advantage, too. In particular, for your use the small size and weight of the camera makes for a pretty big plus. For travel/climbing/backpacking (all things that I use Fujifilm, too — OK, no real climbing any more...) it can be a really ideal tool.
If you like the physical control system of the Fujifilm cameras but feel that the XE line is not for you, then the XT5 would probably be a good upgrade. It is a bit larger and heavier, but it still is not a big camera.
It seems to me that you main issue is about lenses. Unless you are really leaning towards a brand switch to Sony, perhaps a good strategy might be to get the lens setup that you think you want from Fujifilm and try it on your existing XE3?
One final thought. As a person who does a lot of landscape and travel photography, I wonder if you really need that very wide zoom lens. That's a subjective thing, and each person has to figure this out for their own photography. For travel, I get by pretty will with the 14mm f/2.8 as my widest lens, and it is only occasionally that I use it.You could actually cover your entire range with a single zoom lens if you can tolerate a less-wide short focal length, using either the 18-55 or the larger 16-55. That would really simplify things. If you went with the smaller and lighter (and quite good!) 18-55mm lens, you could consider augmenting with something like the 14mm.
Dan
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