As Okidoki said bend modifier is old and not very good, you can use Geonodes for better and simpler reesults.
Higgsas has made best ones out there. You can download the file, append node groups in your file (or save them as assets) and add them as geometry nodes modifiers. They’re called Stretch / Taper / Twist & Bend.
Visual guides can be done by Geonodes too, but this one doesn’t have them. I might look into adding them when I have time