I was also thinking of giving the whole Apple ecosystem another go, I'm due for a new phone and laptop soon, if anything is putting me off it's the user base and not the devices.
Meh, might still give it a shot anyway, just wont ask for advice on here.
Don't let the user base put you off and please do ask for advice - some of us will genuinely try to help.
Probably the best advice I can give you is that you really do need the ecosystem to realise the full benefit of the synergies between the devices.
I started with only the iPhone, and, over the years, slowly added the other bits and pieces, some out of my own pocket (airpods, apple watch, ATV), others work funded (Macbook Pro, Ipad) and can honestly say that the level of integration between these devices has enhanced my work workflow and personal workflows.
The airpods ability to seamlessly switch between the phone, macbook, ipad and ATV is probably the one feature that I most appreciate - I pretty much have one airpod (I alternate all the time) in my ear from the morning until evening.
The other thing that I genuinely appreciate is the longevity of the devices - my wife still uses her iPhone 7+ (stubbornly refuses to let go of the touch-id), younger daughters have hand me down iPhone 7's, older kids iPhone X's. There are two hand-me-down / 2nd hand Macbook Air's in circulation (one is 7 years old, the other around 10 years old) - they all still work perfectly (the two iPhone 7's and one of the X's had their batteries replaced). I also have a couple of old, rather battered, iPads that are also still serving a useful purpose (one as a wall/world clock, the other as a Weather/Dementia clock).
In the time that I've had these Apple devices I"ve also had various Android Tablets and Phones and Windows Laptops - with the exception of one Dell Laptop none of the other devices have had as long, useful and productive lifespan as the Apple devices.
Edit: I was an Android user for many years, and loved the flexibility and configurability, until my last one (a Sony Z3C) crapped out on me after just over two years. Made the switch (iPhone 7 was the flagship at the time) because I couldn't get a Pixel over the counter here in SA,, was fed up with the OEM Androids and their bloatware, long time periods between patches, and seeming obsolescence after 2-3 years. Never looked back.