Looking for the new release for newcomers [v5]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, mods please remove if it is not. There is a lot of conflicting advice online and most of it is from 2019. Looking for honest feedback, not validation.

Maybe an unpopular opinion but here we go. Mostly thinking out loud — feel free to push back hard.

The trade-offs here are not obvious to me and I keep flip-flopping. The trade-offs here are not obvious to me and I keep flip-flopping.