Jesus, just take a moment to realize how insufferable you need to be to have people defend Windows. Privacy issues are the only valid argument at this point for Windows and a really good argument so just harp on it.
Edge isn't a new concept, it's just replaced IE. Also I don't get the want to remove it entirely, try removing libcurl and see how functional Linux is for a daily driver. Just set Firefox as your default browser and call it a day, you'll never see Edge again.
The search bar is one click to hide. Also several distros ship with a search bar.
Ads don't appear with Windows Pro
Not really sure what setting you're having trouble getting to, everything's roughly the same between 7, 10, and 11 for power users.