I really enjoy Little Snitch (or LuLu for a free alternative). It's a system-wide firewall that let's you filter all your network traffic down to the single app and ip address. It's helpful to have an OS-wide ad blocker (with the right block lists) or to disconnect apps from the internet.
I'm recently back to Mac with an M2 mac pro after leaving in 2014 so I'm in a similar position as OP.
I recently installed Lulu and I really like it. I'm not sure if I see a reason to buy little snitch. I looked a little snitches website and I wasn't sure if the features were somehow better. I really like it when Lulu pops up whenever a new app is run and it tells me it's asking for network access and I'll permit or deny. How would little snitch change my experience?
Audirvana for all your audiophile needs!
Amethyst an open source windows tiling manager, that doesn't require you to disable the SIP (System Integrity Protection)
I prefer it to the usual stacking windows managers, because they can be very messy at times.