I installed PopOS last year after I got fed up with bloatware, adds, and just outright annoying “notifications” in windows 10 and 11, and I haven’t looked back.

I found a great resource in the ProtonDB website for configuring proton settings as I have also occasionally had games not work properly that are steam deck verified. There are typically enough people posting how they overcame issues and their build components so you can try to match up their fixes with your computer parts. It helps a ton most of the time.