Is vertical siding more durable than horizontal siding, all things being equal?
I didn't know it was called that but I had batt &amp; board siding and the result aligned with your intuition.  One caveat this siding was many decades old when I bought the home so keep in mind that replacing it was long overdue.

The main problem I noticed with the siding is not that there was an issue with the seams so much as that water shed along the grain of the wood.  Over time this resulted in splits in the boards.  This allowed water inside the wall and created some problems in the structure of the home.

I replaced it with pine clapboards partly for aesthetics but also because I believe them to be superior.   With clapboards, there is overlap.  If a board cracks or opens up, there's another underneath (or over it.)  I think it's better if the water runs across the grain, not with it.  From what I think I understand about wood, water will more easily be absorbed if it drips along the grain.

P.S. Looking at your links, it's important here to distinguish between horizontal siding and lapped horizontal as discussed in the 'farhas' article.  I would think vertical is preferable to horizontal if we are talking non-lapped.  Water will stick to the underside of a board and ride in between the seams.  Once it's on a flat surface, there's no natural path out and it could get behind the board or simply sit on top of one below.