I have two Asus gaming laptops. My G74SX from 2011 is still trucking along great. It’s not much for games anymore but great for Stardew Valley, browsing, and movies. My Zephyrus M16 is good overall with some complaints. I will throw out that for the same price of a gaming laptop, you can build a PC that is more powerful. You can even get a pre-build that will last you longer than a laptop. If you’re dead set on the laptop though, I’d recommend an Asus. The hardware is great but the software fights you a bit
Based on your post, you sound like you don’t want to use it but feel obligated to. You aren’t obligated to use it. I purchased a Linux machine and daily drive it for everything I can. It was a little rough to start but I have picked up on it pretty quick. You will deal with weird quirks from time to time. Most issues I run into are common enough that a quick Google search will fix me up or get me pointed in the right direction. If you want to try Linux, just know that there is a learning curve and be patient with it. As far as Distros, start with a “Just Works” Distro. I recommend Linux Mint or Pop_OS. They work well out of the box while having plenty of room for tinkering. I’m by no means a programmer or Developer but Linux is still accessible without a deep arcane knowledge base of CS information to draw from. Regardless if you use Linux or not, I hope you enjoy your new PC!