Great post. I'd like to know from fellow HNs: how does Windows Defender compares with other anti-virus?
I think it's good enough, in general. While a 3rd party AV might be more effective for someone very prone to installing PUPs/malware, I still don't think it's worth it - an adblocker likely makes much more of a difference just by preventing people from clicking Google ads while looking for legitimate software.
Side note: I've been happy with Win10. While I thought auto updates would be bad, they've all been snuck in while I'm sleeping/AFK with no side effects. Apart from the initial round of disabling various telemetry features, it's been smooth, and the stupid stuff like unremovable start menu tiles has gradually been fixed.