LTSB user here: I had zero trouble installing VS and other software on it.
Relating to the article, it was the most painful install I've ever had to deal with, precisely because of Windows Update
I've tried Visual Studio 2017 Community Edition on Windows 10 LTSB a few months ago and it never worked. Good to hear it worked for you.
[1]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/productinfo/vs...