Honestly, I get shocked every time how horrible the viewing experience is without an Adblock, both with the amount of ads and how much of it is scams or open propaganda. I will close the tab unless I really have to watch the video.

You are fundamentally right about trying to avoid Youtube on your phone in my opinion. But just to not be facing the same ad cancer if you do need to watch a video I would suggest either:

A) Safari uBlock Origin Lite extension B) Orion browser with desktop extensions C) Sideloaded Youtube app

Hope that helps