@madcollector yes #vscodium is definitely an option. And you seem to be right, besides removing the telemetry, branding & marketplace it also doesn't have the AI features(which I didn't know)!

I've used it in the past and it's fine, it just feels wrong. Like using chromium or adblock to fight against a constant barage of features that you don't want.

But to be honest in the end it's just personal preference, the important thing is doing stuff - or getting things done. I just often fall into the trap of "improving things, just cause of some potential benefit later" :D