I'm a Linux power user, I hate most macOS default features and settings.
That said, I find myself using a MacBook because the battery life/performance combo is unrivaled1, they have perfect displays and macOS is still the leader in font rendering and HiDPI scaling.
To make my experience more bearable, this is what I do on a new machine:
set up Homebrew
install InstantSpaceSwitcher and set it up to override Mission Control default keybindings and trackpad gestures: you'll have to unbind Mission Control ones from macOS settings first
install BetterDisplay to manage brightness for non-Apple external displays2
install OrbStack to avoid having to deal with APFS idiosyncrasies
install Asimov to avoid cluttering your Time Machine backups
set up Terminal.app to be usable, now that macOS 26 introduced True Color rendering:
Settings > Profiles > [your profile] > Shell > When the shell exits: Close if the shell exited cleanly
Settings > Profiles > [your profile] > Keyboard > Use Option as Meta key
install Ghostty
After trying several so-called tiling window managers, I concluded they're not worth the hassle - introduce lags and glitches everywhere.