Agreed on most points but you can setup a pretty solid device wide DNS provider using configuration profiles. Similar to how iOS can be enrolled in work corporate MDM - but under your control.

Works great for me with NextDNS.

Orion browser - while also based on WebKit - is also awesome and has great built in Adblock and supposedly privacy respecting ideals.

Apple has records that you are installing that, probably putting you on a list.

And it works until it's made illegal in your country and removed from the app store. You have no guarantees that anything that works today will work tomorrow with Apple.

Apple is setting us up to be under a dictator's thumb one conversion at a time.