SponsorBlock (blocks sponsor segments as well as filler content like intros, outros, jokes, etc)
ReVanced (or Vanced while it still works)
These are all you need to remove ads on YouTube. This is also the reason why I won't use Chrome with their Manifest v3 extension mandate, Firefox all day.
Part of what they're doing now isn't just to show more ads, but to drive people into Premium. Once they have enough people on Premium, then they can break it up into more tiers, adding ads to some. When enough people are using Premium (because Free has become completely useless and pointless) they can just remove the Premium tiers with no ads and "simplify" the entire thing: i.e. you paying Premium price for what Free YouTube with ads is right now.
I think it would be irrational and immoral to use the service as much as I do, for music, hobbies, education and business and not pay for it. Then I’m not stuck using only one browser with one set of extensions; all of which I have to keep updated, and engaged in an arms race–but in fact have full access on my phone, iPad, computer and TV without ads. I’ve been in that arms race back when I had more time than money, and I don’t want to be in it again.
I think it's irrational and immoral for YouTube not to be commons at this point. The rest of what you said doesn't exist as a problem, no end-user cares about any of that because it involves no actual work or activity of any kind.
YouTube isn’t a non-profit, and society isn’t entitled to take what they want from it without acknowledging and respecting the terms YouTube makes its infrastructure available. There are other outlets for more “commons”-like tube experiences, notably PeerTube.
The value is in YouTube though, and I know that bothers some people, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m not screwing myself by paying them for a subscription: it’s called trade. They have stuff I want, I have stuff they want. If I value something, I pay for it or trade for it (e.g. Wikipedia, the Internet Archive, all private property by the way, somebody owns their servers too, they’re just a different type of corporation).
I think it is fairly mercenary to take a moral stance against paying money for something that you like. I know that there are people I watch who make their livings through YouTube, some of whom are buying houses or getting married because they’re able to with this income; and for others, it’s just a side gig or a hobby. They’re not getting paid when you Adblock, but they are getting paid for the aggregate views that I and others give them.
If you think our views aren’t un-reconcilable, don’t tell me that I’m being irrational or that I’m “screwing myself” by paying for something I want to see continue to exist simply because I’m not bothered by the idea of people taking profits. If you can’t do that, then take my offer to agree to disagree. I’m not bothered by your outlook, but I don’t share it in common with you.
Getting back to YouTube: when I pay for a service, it’s called a trade. $11.99/month or $143.88/year nets me a service I rely on. I don’t particularly care where the money goes to after I pay it, but the correct answer is probably a revenue account owned by YouTube. Where that money goes after it lands on their Balance Sheet isn’t my business, because money that has left my hands is not mine anymore. I walk away feeling like I’ve gotten a good deal, and I never have my time wasted by Google Ads anywhere in the service on any device I control and some that I don’t, and I’m not limited to a specific browser setup. Your inability to see the benefits to my life does not make it irrational, nor wrong to do so.
That’s true for every service or product that you or anyone pays for: you got a product or service. You didn’t maintain any equity in the dollars or euros or yen that you paid in exchange. Nor do you possess equity in any items you barter away.
I've paid for Youtube Premium for years and consider it money well spent.
No one that I’ve convinced to buy it has chosen to go back and not started paying again, friend that are generally cheap about this kind of thing too and they became the person I was: the one complaining when we went over to someone’s house, watched a video and ads started playing. Just using YouTube that way long enough convinces you of the value.