Controversial opinion: unless your university studies and work is in OS development, then you should go for Windows or Mac. You won’t have energy or time to keep fixing your laptop OS when an update breaks the Bluetooth driver or whatever when you have a class to attend and assignments to do
I interpreted “middle of the road” as doing nothing special, just normal tasks done a normal way and therefore hoping everything just works so you can focus on work
Also, the ideology I agree with but I swear these “memes” are made by the deranged. It’s the kind of handwritten scrawl you expect to see taped to lampposts by the guy who wanders around with empty tincans cellotaped to his patchwork hat