I was the same. I also avoided any Kpackage because of kdependencies it would install along with it.
I was shocked when my Linux Guru recommended KDE whenever it was that Plasma got really good. I reluctantly tried it and I was hooked. I was in love with the infinitely user configurable UI. I felt like I could easily bend the interface to do what I wanted. It’s been many years now and it’s hard for me to use anything but KDE. I even tried to give Plasma Mobile a go on my Pine Phone.