The updates often do take many times the install time which can be a bit frustrating, though it is an area being worked on: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/introducing-windows-11-checkpoint-cumulative-updates/4182552

I prefer starting with a netinstall and taking the time to choose the software I want rather than the kitchen sink distros. Or on Windows putting together one command to add what I want in a similar fashion, e.g. https://winstall.app/apps

I prefer LTSC and Raphire’s debloat script https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat and I wouldn’t say it’s onerous. A nit-picky peeve with ad-hoc Windows installs is that setting the keyboard input for the installer doesn’t define the default, and that Windows 11 has gone backwards in terms of setting up default user profile settings, much more single user focused.