/e/OS is based on LineageOS with microG. They did make a choice for Magic Earth as maps app which is not open source. For “normies” /e/OS seems a fine choice to me to De-Google.
Did you do a sha256sum or md5sum checksum after downloading the iso file and after copying it to the Ventoy pendrive ? (Linux uses caching for copying. Taking the pendrive out before your system has done a “safe remove” can cause problems)
After not touching my desktop for several months, I now see that I absolutely hate Windows even more.
Welcome to the club :-)
Currently, I’m a student in Mathematics and Computer Science.
In that case I would certainly toy (but maybe not daily drive) with Nix or NixOS. Its concept is stunning. For daily driving Linux it depends on your hardware (x86 or arm). Debian is rock solid as daily driver on x86. If you need some newer software you can use Flatpak or the Nix package manager, or use distrobox or toolbox though beware of its drawbacks. Another good choice is Arch Linux. Since a while the install iso comes with an installer so that you no longer have to read documentation. The Arch Linux wiki is very often a superb source of information. But depending on your hardware there’s Asahi Linux : asahilinux.org
I’ve read that GIMP developers refuse to change the name despite complaints since a long time. A fork of GIMP (Glimpse) is discontinued. Luckily there’s other names in that area :