I LOVE Figma, just frustrated with the lack of a good way to access plugins. Every couple of months I search the Forum in hopes that some solution will appear for this pain point!
I have so many plugins that I cannot remember their names, so searching by name is inefficient. It breaks my flow to have to recall what something is called. And, as many have pointed out, some plugins close on their own so repetitive tasks are tedious.
Simply doing something like XD is not my preference. It’s another (though prettier) list and still requires hunting for plugins, but it would still be a huge improvement. In XD, some plugins expand to show a menu of options, super nice because the expanded menus stay open even if interacting with another plugin.
Ideally, I would also like to pin favorites, and/or have the option to ‘pop out’ a plugin into a floating or dock-able panel so I can access more than one at a time. Also, create my own tags or create folders for easier searches. 
Figma, please, please, please—with sugar on top—consider improving the workflow for plugins! It would be a huge win!!