Thanks for the recommendations. Regarding it being easy and me making it difficult, I respectfully disagree, and would like to provide a bit perspective. If you’re here replying I suspect you’re at least a minor hobbyist, and I’m sure that privacy and security solution selections seems quite simple to you. I assure you, it isn’t easy for everyone.
This particular market is literally overrun with intentionally deceptive and often very outdated information, which make it an absolute minefield for the uninitiated. I’m thankful I dove deep enough that I realized I needed to ask a question, because I may have ended up with one of the many much worse choices had I not asked.