Agreed. IMO that particular release was the Windows OS high-water mark, the "sweet spot", in terms of functionality, ease of use, and overall style. Everything before it was not as good, and everything after it has been worse.
It's a shame that it's now manifestly unsafe to use for internet browsing, because Microsoft stopped patching security flaws almost two years ago. But it's still entirely fine for local "air-gapped" use with applications.
I use Norton 360 & Norton Utilities and MalwareBytes Premium plus CCleaner premium, so I well protected, so I’ve NEVER had a virus attack, in the past 15yrs. Can’t get much better than that. The provide firewalls, anti-virus and malware protection, 24x7.
Even Windows Defender/ Anti-Virus and its’ various built-in protections weren’t that good.