From the sound of it, we’re well along the road to better Linux gaming. You have to pay attention to a few things like distro choice, setting up software like wine, and certain tweaks and adjustments, but my understanding is that you can play a lot of good games on GNU/Linux now! If Windows Recall can’t be disabled, I may be diving into Steam, Proton, etc. all over again as I ditch Windows for the last thing I use it for.
You save it for last, but I think your last point should not be overlooked. Linux’s recent successes have been augmented by Windows recent missteps and failures. Considering how bad those are, I think we should credit at least a portion of Linux’s use to Microsoft’s inadequacy in customization and/overreach in privacy.