I try to get everything cut back in fall including ferns. Some ferns are among the easiest mushy or not but others like Adiantum pedatum - Northern Maidenhair need to be cut. I got about 1/4 of my garden cut back before being thwarted by about 4" of snow. Still cutting back but it is no fun.

"Some ferns are among the easiest mushy or not but others like Adiantum pedatum - Northern Maidenhair need to be cut."

That's true, I forgot about the Dryopteris. I won't cut those down until spring because they're semi-evergreen here, and I do have to cut rather than tug on those. Most of my ferns are Japanese painted ferns, which fall into a mushy heap in the latter part of fall.

Try an experiment. Remove old growth from one and leave it on the other. How do they look/fare during the season?

I have both evergreen & those that die back to mush. I do pick up the mush piles because like hosta mush it’s a great place for slugs & snails which are prolific in my PNW. The evergreen ferns I do clean up in spring by cutting off browned & tired fronds. Other than that, I tend to leave much of the dead foilage on the ground & plants leaving it for birds & beneficial insects. I do clear leaves off my paver patio. Early spring is when I venture out to begin pruning paniculata hydrangeas, coneflower stalks, maple leaf raking etc. etc. I’ve learned that one can be too tidy in gardening.

ETA: in my area of SW WA we don’t get much snow. We do have increasing frequency of ice storms though & they can be catastrophic with the lack of snow cover for protection. That, for me is another reason to leave the fallen & dead mess for spring cleanup. The dead flowers provide freeze protection for shrubs & the leaf litter provides some frost heave protection too.

The semi evergreen ones I leave until spring, those that turn black or droop to the ground are cut off and to the compost with them. I find a good pair of hedge shears makes quick easy work of ALL perennials no matter their thickness or toughness, whereas using hand pruners being much more time and energy consuming when it comes to doing large scale cutting back.

I will do no work in the garden until February. This is an exaggeration, but I really don't do much at this time of year. I just let everything melt until things start to emerge and then I clean beds and cut back stalks and go after whatever weeds have survived under the clutter. It does mean the garden looks messy, and I realize some don't like that, but I'm ok with it. This is in no way saying people should do as I do. Truly believe to each their own.