I really don’t know. I’ve been using Ubuntu for so damn long now that it’s just comfortable to work with. I know all the dpkg and apt commands by heart and I know where to find everything when I need to really customize my system. Plus they have great support for 3rd party drivers for things like NVidia which is great. But, I’m really wary about the whole telemetry thing and sending package and usage data to Canonical. Plus, they’ve been pushing snaps pretty hard to a point that they sneak snap packages instead of installing the actual deb package when using apt. I don’t like being forced into using things like that without my express consent. So, yeah I’ve been thinking of switching.
Thanks for the excellent elaboration! It’s almost sad to see how the great have fallen… And I’d have to agree with most of your thoughts. Ultimately, it’s your choice to make. But if I’d have to share my two cents, then I would say:
Even if you’re positive on departing from Ubuntu, you don’t have to forsake it for something entirely different; which is where I would put any non-Debian-based distro (which includes EndeavourOS).
There are a lot of distros that are based on either Debian or Ubuntu which should be able to remind you of the good ol’ Ubuntu. Besides Elementary OS and Pop!_OS, there are other popular picks like Linux Mint and Zorin OS. And we haven’t even mentioned the likes of KDE Neon, MX Linux, Rhino Linux, SparkyLinux, SpiralLinux, Tuxedo OS, Vanilla OS etc or heck, just plain ol’ Debian itself. I think as long as it’s Debian/Ubuntu-based and your favourite Desktop Environment is well-supported, then it’s at least a distro worth considering.