Additionally, I know I can deactivate them by jumping through a couple of hoops, but that's not the point.
Having to remove unwanted software seems like an odd reason to rule out an entire environment.
The name Windows 10 Professional suggest that it's suitable for Professional use. I was happy using Windows 2000, Windows XP Pro and Windows 7. But ads are a step too far, and something I don't expect to see in software I've paid for.
I'm happy enough with Linux on my workstation and macOS on my MBP. I can get up and running quickly without doing any pointless tweaks.
What a ridiculous situation. Microsoft used to have the fig leaf that it was the OEMs stuffing crapware into new computers but at some point they decided to cut out the middleman and do it themselves.
I'm dreading the day that I have to move off of Windows 7. So far it's still creaking along, but eventually something will force me to upgrade. All I want is to give Microsoft a sum of money (even a big amount of money is fine) and get an operating system that's supported for at least 1 year. If I could get access to Windows Enterprise without jumping through hoops (like self-incorporating) that might be an acceptable compromise.
If it were a free OS where you could upgrade to get rid of the ads, I wouldn't mind it.
But it's not. It's an operating system whose basic price is over $100 and you cannot get rid of them permanently in any way without using third-party software. That piece of shit will never become my choice of the operating system.
The very least they could do is to offer ad-free experience in the Pro version. At this moment, I see no benefit of buying Pro at all.