Linq to SQL is still a thing, you may need to click it’s package when you install visual studio 2017+, but it’s still there and it’s still the best SQL interface they have build in my opinion.

We rarely use anything else, but I can see the value of entity if you’re changing your DB a lot. We typically don’t do that though, and to be honest, working with changes with linq to sql, typically goes smoother than entity migrations.

Disclaimer: it’s entirely possible that we simply suck at entity.