Doubleclick problems - Sierra, & High Sierra

Issue: Double clicking a file to open it using a mouse, or to edit the filename doesn't work consistently and seems very application dependent. Too much of the time, double clicking does nothing.

Background: I have been a mac user since the very first Macintosh and am currently using two different fairly current MacBook Pro's. Since the introduction of Sierra and now High Sierra, I have been unable to get my mice to reliably open a file, or a mail message by double clicking. Mac Mail is particularly problematic as well as any file that is on the Desktop. I am very aware of all the settings that influence this (Mouse, Accessibility) but quite frankly, none of these seem to make a lasting difference and do not seem to correct the problem for more than a few minutes. I have had to resort to right click, context sensitive open clicks, or renames to get around this. This is very disappointing is the beautiful integration of this economic motion was far better integrated than in competing platforms.

Question: Has anyone else noticed this? Is this a bug, or a potentially some other problem that I might actually remedy?