diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 4b83ffb6..d41209c5 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -24,8 +24,11 @@ libz-ng-sys = { version = "1.1.16", optional = true }
 # this matches the default features, but we don't want to depend on the default features staying the same
 zlib-rs = { version = "0.5.3", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["std", "rust-allocator"] }
 cloudflare-zlib-sys = { version = "0.3.6", optional = true }
+## This implementation uses only safe Rust code and doesn't require a C compiler.
+## It provides good performance for most use cases while being completely portable.
 miniz_oxide = { version = "0.8.5", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["with-alloc", "simd"] }
 crc32fast = "1.2.0"
+document-features = { version = "0.2", optional = true }
 
 [target.'cfg(all(target_arch = "wasm32", not(target_os = "emscripten")))'.dependencies]
 miniz_oxide = { version = "0.8.5", default-features = false, features = ["with-alloc", "simd"] }
@@ -36,17 +39,75 @@ rand = "0.9"
 quickcheck = { version = "1.0", default-features = false }
 
 [features]
+## The default backend using pure Rust implementation via miniz_oxide.
+## This provides a safe, portable compression implementation without requiring a C compiler.
 default = ["rust_backend"]
-any_zlib = ["any_impl"] # note: this is not a real user-facing feature
-any_impl = [] # note: this is not a real user-facing feature
+
+#! ### User-Facing Backend Features
+#! Choose one of these features to select the compression backend.
+#! Only one backend should be enabled at a time, or else one will see an unstable order which is currently
+#! `zlib-ng`, `zlib-rs`, `cloudflare_zlib`, `miniz_oxide` and which may change at any time.
+
+## Use the zlib-rs backend, a pure Rust rewrite of zlib.
+## This is the fastest backend overall, providing excellent performance with some `unsafe` code.
+## It does not require a C compiler but uses `unsafe` Rust for optimization.
+zlib-rs = ["any_impl", "dep:zlib-rs"]
+
+## Use the pure Rust `miniz_oxide` backend (default).
+## This implementation uses only safe Rust code and doesn't require a C compiler.
+## It provides good performance for most use cases while being completely portable.
+##
+## Note that this feature at some point may be switched to use `zlib-rs` instead.
+rust_backend = ["miniz_oxide", "any_impl"]
+
+## Use the system's installed zlib library.
+## This is useful when you need compatibility with other C code that uses zlib,
+## or when you want to use the system-provided zlib for consistency.
 zlib = ["any_zlib", "libz-sys"]
+
+## Use the system's installed zlib library with default features enabled.
+## Similar to `zlib` but enables additional features from libz-sys.
 zlib-default = ["any_zlib", "libz-sys/default"]
+
+## Use zlib-ng in zlib-compat mode via libz-sys.
+## This provides zlib-ng's performance improvements while maintaining compatibility.
+## Note: If any crate in your dependency graph uses stock zlib, you'll get stock zlib instead.
+## For guaranteed zlib-ng, use the `zlib-ng` feature.
+## When using this feature, if any crate in your dependency graph explicitly requests stock zlib,
+## or uses libz-sys directly without `default-features = false`, you'll get stock zlib rather than zlib-ng.
+## See [the libz-sys README](https://github.com/rust-lang/libz-sys/blob/main/README.md) for details.
+## To avoid that, use the `"zlib-ng"` feature instead.
+
 zlib-ng-compat = ["zlib", "libz-sys/zlib-ng"]
+
+## Use the high-performance zlib-ng library directly.
+## This typically provides better performance than stock zlib and works even when
+## other dependencies use zlib. Requires a C compiler.
 zlib-ng = ["any_zlib", "libz-ng-sys"]
-zlib-rs = ["any_impl", "dep:zlib-rs"]
+
+## Use Cloudflare's optimized zlib implementation.
+## This provides better performance than stock zlib on x86-64 (with SSE 4.2) and ARM64 (with NEON & CRC).
+## * ⚠ Does not support 32-bit CPUs and is incompatible with mingw.
+## * ⚠ May cause conflicts if other crates use different zlib versions.
 cloudflare_zlib = ["any_zlib", "cloudflare-zlib-sys"]
-rust_backend = ["miniz_oxide", "any_impl"]
-miniz-sys = ["rust_backend"] # For backwards compatibility
+
+## Deprecated alias for `rust_backend`, provided for backwards compatibility.
+## Use `rust_backend` instead.
+miniz-sys = ["rust_backend"]
+
+#! ### Internal Features
+#! These features are used internally for backend selection and should not be enabled directly by users.
+#! They are documented here to aid with maintenance.
+
+## **Internal:** Marker feature indicating that any zlib-based C backend is enabled.
+## This is automatically enabled by `zlib`, `zlib-ng`, `zlib-ng-compat`, or `cloudflare_zlib`.
+## Do not enable this feature directly; instead, choose a specific backend feature.
+any_zlib = ["any_impl"]
+
+## **Internal:** Marker feature indicating that any compression backend is enabled.
+## This is automatically enabled by all backend features to ensure at least one implementation is available.
+## Do not enable this feature directly; instead, choose a specific backend feature.
+any_impl = []
 
 [package.metadata.docs.rs]
 all-features = true
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index faf46658..08033ded 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -14,12 +14,15 @@
 //! # Implementation
 //!
 //! In addition to supporting three formats, this crate supports several different
-//! backends, controlled through this crate's features:
+//! backends, controlled through this crate's *features flags*:
 //!
-//! * `default`, or `rust_backend` - this implementation uses the `miniz_oxide`
+//! * `default`, or `rust_backend` - this implementation currently uses the `miniz_oxide`
 //!   crate which is a port of `miniz.c` to Rust. This feature does not
 //!   require a C compiler, and only uses safe Rust code.
 //!
+//!   Note that the `rust_backend` feature may at some point be switched to use `zlib-rs`,
+//!   and that `miniz_oxide` should be used explicitly if this is not desired.
+//!
 //! * `zlib-rs` - this implementation utilizes the `zlib-rs` crate, a Rust rewrite of zlib.
 //!   This backend is the fastest, at the cost of some `unsafe` Rust code.
 //!
@@ -30,6 +33,23 @@
 //!
 //! The `zlib-rs` backend typically outperforms all the C implementations.
 //!
+//! # Feature Flags
+#![cfg_attr(
+    not(feature = "document-features"),
+    doc = "Activate the `document-features` cargo feature to see feature docs here"
+)]
+#![cfg_attr(feature = "document-features", doc = document_features::document_features!())]
+//!
+//! ## Ambiguous feature selection
+//!
+//! As Cargo features are additive, while backends are not, there is an order in which backends
+//! become active if multiple are selected.
+//!
+//! * zlib-ng
+//! * zlib-rs
+//! * cloudflare_zlib
+//! * miniz_oxide
+//!
 //! # Organization
 //!
 //! This crate consists of three main modules: `bufread`, `read`, and `write`. Each module