Using an ad-blocking DNS server solves most of those problems.

You should still use a browser extension on top of that for pattern-based URL blocking, but a DNS-based blocker should be your first line of defense.

A good ad-blocker goes a long way. You can block all Google domains with minimal impact to non-Google services.

This is how Arc behaves by default, and it drove me crazy. The cons of it appearing when I don’t want it far outweigh the pros of saving me a single click when I do want it.

It’s incredibly annoying, but it gets easier over time as you fill out you whitelist.

One of the big advantages to something like NoScript is that it lets you enable scripts only from certain domains. So you can enable the functionally-required scripts while still blocking other scripts.

But yes, it’s a giant pain in the ass. It’s absurd that the web has devolved into such a state.