Antivirus is not a bad thing. Imagine running a company where there are 100 employees that click every link and open every attachment. Definitely safer with an antivirus.
How much do I need to go on? A foothold on a local computer allows the attacker to spread horizontally across your network.
It’s just a matter of time before you’re fighting real-time AI-driven attacks (most sites aren’t yet). Good luck even with your antivirus. Which I agree is going to be one of the footholds that is used against you.