XFi gateway to switches - attached computers cannot get to internet

I have gig service with the white XFi gateway. It has 4 ethernet ports. I want to connect a NAS, a 16 port switch, a 4 port switch, and an 8 port switch to the router. From there I fan out to the various devices. Note - that it is alot of ports, but I happened to have those switches so I am using them. All are unmanaged, all are gig.

When I connect the switches to the router, computers that are connected to the switches have "issues". Meaning significant slowness (like ~100mbps speedtests) or "connected with no internet" messages.

I am at my wit's end here. Why can't the router send traffic to the switches? Why is it so bad? I have replaced/switched the cables, I have replaced and switched the switches themselves (especially the 16 port version, I am on my 3rd, brand new one of those). What am I doing wrong here?

I originally had a set of netgear components (modem and router/wifi gadgets) but the support was so bad that I had to revert to the xfi modem just to avoid that issue when troubleshooting the connection issues I was seeing.