I was not planning to use LVM because it's documented[0] as slow and resource hungry... full copy each time, massive memory use, etc.
CONFIG_OVERLAY_FS is mainline kernel code (unlike aufs) and not marked as experimental so if docker's implementation is buggy it is more likely to be docker's fault. It is documented by docker as being generally fast.[1]
Regardless, I don't see performance as a great concern for my workloads... I'm more interested in the workflow enhancements.
Use native devicemapper (using an lvm mounted volume). Best, fastest and least buggy.
Overlay was flagged as massively buggy.