I don't think the velop is the best at all. Apple has a tie-up with Belkin which bought out Linksys when Cisco sold it.. and they sell them via the Apple stores.. without any sort of support or backup.
There are a number of mesh designs.. I think the netgear orbi one of the best.
BUT I am not that impressed by mesh unless you have no way to run ethernet in your home. Ethernet connected Wireless Access Points will be faster and provide better and more robust network results.
In terms of brands.. I really like the synology router.. and they do have a mesh unit now to combine with it. Synology has very well known NAS of course that works well for Time Machine backup .. it is certainly expensive though.. but you would need to use it as media and file server to justify the price.
The Synology router uses a common firmware with the NAS.. combined with a USB3 drive it will give you the same speed as Time Capsule internal drive over network.. either is reliable as Synology is much better firmware then average.
Another brand that I am using now and do like is Asus.. But the Time Machine backups to USB disk were not reliable after about 8 weeks.. it always broke down and needed a restart. The newer units like RT-AC88U and 86U are a bit flakey at least in my setup.. and several people here are experiencing nusiance issues.. dropouts on 48hour cycle.. not terrible but annoying for such expensive equipment.
In terms of wireless network.. if you are prepared to pay a bit more.. ubiquiti unifi system provides a big jump in quality from domestic routers and WAP to semi-pro level. And it offers a centralized control system that works much like Airport Utility but with a lot more functionality. People are opting to go ubiquiti even in homes.. it does require a bit steeper learning curve.. and it does not support things like USB disk storage but offers what Apple could have grown up to offer.
I would think if you have a mac mini or any other Desktop Mac, that you could share a USB drive for Time Machine backups over the network and this would save you from buying an expensive NAS that is compatible with Time Machine?
This is now indeed a possible since High Sierra. It was possible prior to that but was very hit and miss performance.. Apple moved the Time Machine server extensions to normal OS X (in light of their abandonment of Airport routers).
I expect they will make some sort of iCloud backup more readily available in the future.
https://www.howtogeek.com/330288/how-to-set-up-your-mac-to-act-as-a-networked-time-machine-drive/
