Update: On Ubuntu Desktop 15.04 with Wily kernel I installed linux-image-extra as well, and was able to get a working system.
So it looks like the problem is an interaction between the Wily kernel and something else that has changed in 15.10.
If there is a way to get useful logs from the hung boot process on the upgraded 15.10 I'm happy to give that a go - just let me know what to do.
Update: On Ubuntu Desktop 15.04 with Wily kernel I installed linux-image-extra as well, and was able to get a working system.
So it looks like the problem is an interaction between the Wily kernel and something else that has changed in 15.10.
If there is a way to get useful logs from the hung boot process on the upgraded 15.10 I'm happy to give that a go - just let me know what to do.