it’s just more configurable

That’s an understatement 😄 The amount of configuration KDE offers is mindbogglingly to me. Again, UX and degree of configuration are very subjective matters.

You may try immutable OS like NixOS. Modern-day kernel has way better hardware support than earlier days.

Same for me, but via Cloudflare tunnel. No need to expose your system to world unless that is what you want.

Variable refresh rate (VRR) allows your display to match the framerate of an image source, such as a game — and doing so prevents screen tearing. Support for VRR has been added to the cosmic-comp compositor and Displays Settings. You can set VRR to be either always on or automatic, which will enable VRR for fullscreen content.

Source: https://blog.system76.com/post/cosmic-alpha-4