Good choice with Mint, I think its the best distro for people transitioning from Windows.

Yeah that’s the one I was thinking about, thanks!

A bare keyboard attached to a screen, that I could plug my phone (possibly running Phosh) and use it as a hardware for a laptop experience

Back in the day there was a phone called motorola atrix 4g, they made a lapdock for it that let you do this. There was also 3d party company that made lapdocks for modern Samsung phones that support Dex, but I’m not sure if they’re still aournd.

You might like this concept phone I saw the other day https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/24/23930668/lenovo-moto-flexible-wrist-phone-concept

Try experimenting with turning off the ramp. I always felt like I was struggling to breathe until I turned off the ramp on mine, it was so much easier to breathe with it turned off.