I typically use a mix of Google and DuckDuckGo and this combination serves me well. I block all ads with uBlock Origin.

I tried Kagi and I like it but not enough to justify the price to myself. If they ever introduce a plan where they charge per query I may start using it more often. Also, I don't like the idea of every query being tied to my credit card details (Kagi claims to be privacy friendly but many companies do, very few really are, it's better not to trust such claims)