Yep, Apple TV has long been my preferred streaming box. I put one on every TV and don't connect the TV to the network. Plex and YouTube are probably my top apps and while YouTube is maddening (just horrible UI/UX), I find Plex to be mostly enjoyable or at least reliable and unsurprising.

YouTube is probably the single biggest upside that an HTPC has over an Apple TV. (And any other streaming device.)

For anything from youtube I actually care about watching on a TV, I'll download with yt-dlp and put on my Plex server - it's less friction than dealing with youtube on the TV itself.