Win2000 - DirectX and drivers

I know that NT4 had major DirectX problems - have these been remedied in Win2000 making it as good as XP for running DX - you can put DirectX8/9 on it OK?
Where does 2000 stand with knowing about devices, particularly USB? Win98 needs drivers for practically any USB device it seems while XP is very good at identifying them - I'm mainly referring to mass storage devices. Does Win2000 have automatic support for pen-drives and the like? Do manufacturers provide good 2000 support compared to Win98 and WinXP?