I had a blast with Rimworld. Still play it occasionally for the "Dwarf Fortress but sci-fi" urge it fulfills. But in the long run when trying to do a huge generational colony I can't stand how "gamey" it feels. Maybe there's some mod or something to fix it, I'm not sure. But the raids/diseases/bad events feel like they're more targeted for lack of a better way to put it, like the game is intentionally tailoring them to your situation vs just simulating a world where those things tend to happen. DF's "events" feel more natural over the long run.

I love the setting of Rimworld but cannot get past how dumb the pawns are. As in, it requires so much human micromanagement to make sure they occasionally clean, haul, and tend to the guy who is 1h away from dying rather than the one who has an scratch

I have the opposite problem. I want to play Rimworld, and it IS fun, but I always want more. Rimworld feels too basic and I find myself craving the complexity of DF instead. Ultimately I decide not to dive back into DF and I end up enjoying neither. Oxygen Not Include is great though.