In-place upgrade or fresh install?

Hey y'all.

Public rollout for 26H2 is just around the corner and I was thinking of, finally, updating from 23H2. I have been on that for so long because:
1. It was stable.
2. Windows stayed out of my way.
3. Heard horror stories around release of 24H2 and decided that the changes weren't worth the potential troubles.

The only "trouble" (more an annoyance than anything) I have right now, is that my optical drive issue, that I still have to this day, is still unsolved.

Most tech-savvy would immediately say "format and start over". But, in my case... my Windows installation, when installed from scratch takes DAYS - up to a WEEK - with the sheer number of software I have to install, software settings to reinstated from backups, Windows customization, making sure the paths to software is the same between old and new...

To give you an idea, I'm looking at around 57 software to install with an additional 10 has a maybe-maybe not.

So, that's why I thought of using an in-place upgrade that keeps all files and software. From my understanding, Windows just re-installs itself while keeping all user data when doing so. The only potential issues from this are the potential issues coming from the registry and drivers (I haven't used a 3rd party anti-virus in quite a long time - fyi).

Of course, if I decide to format, I can use Unattend Generator - get rid of some preinstalled software ("""bloat""") I don't use but have to recopy all my files and preferences... reinstall everything.

In both case, I'd make a full image of my internal M2 SSD using Macrium Reflect and have 2 copies of it (one on an external HDD and one on my NAS). So that:
- If there's anything wrong during or after the in-place upgrade, I can boot in a PE environment and re-image my internal SSD and get Windows exactly how it was before upgrade.
- After the format, I use the image to retrieve all my local files and settings back to where they were initially. (But always a great safety net)

So, I'd like to hear from people that has experience in using in-place upgrades. Is it reliable? Buggy enough to just go the reformat route?

Thanks!