windows 11 clean install troubles, bios flashed (not by choice), options missing

So, this is my 3rd post sharing a first time clean install of win 11 and the troubles it has brought. Please pardon any confusion and lack of knowledge on my part, it's been a learning (and somewhat trying) process so far.

Wish I had read through this post earlier- https://www.dell.com/community/Inspiron/Share-your-Clean-Install-of-Windows-11-experience/m-p/8102246#M133751

which seemed to be a successful record of a clean install with minimal trouble. Mine, not so much. I had the same goals- new machine (inspiron 16 5620), remove clutter, no unnecessary installs or downloads without my control. None has gone as planned. (also stupidly didn't create a backup bootable factory image since I wrongly assumed that I could just restart the process if something went wrong- unwanted bios issues have proven otherwise)

As of now, just seeking advice on how to proceed- I'll try and list what has gone wrong/odd with so far. All signs point to needing to start over once again, but I want to be sure before proceeding. I am using the dell specific clean install guide by philip yip here- https://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com and started from a media creation tool usb stick for win11, bios dell data wipe to clean drives, and intel storage controller drivers to detect drives.

- no microsoft login with OOBE. It did require one when booting up with the factory image. Once I got started on the clean install, it did not. From what I learned from the post linked up top and googled, this doesn't seem to be a problem (the inf files for the wifi were manually installed via cmd), but again, just want to be sure this is ok.

- bios was flashed and drivers were downloaded, despite running OOshutup immediately to prevent drivers and downloads thru windows update- so something has gone wrong here. This is already my 2nd attempt at a clean install- earlier was using a guide on the windows help forums before I learned of the specific guide. During THAT earlier clean install, winupdate again tried to update the bios through explorer, and failed. Luckily I was able to roll back because of that failure. This time, it went thru and flashed to a "recommended" update (I didn't catch it in time to stop the download- I thought OOshutup was working). I already asked this question that was solved by jocean stating NOT to do it if I can help it (https://www.dell.com/community/Inspiron/Question-Failure-Bios-Update-Inspiron-16-5620/m-p/8238932/thread-id/148054#M148055) and that was the original plan (and has been my policy on all prior computers). After talking to tech support and reading the update literature, I've learned I cannot roll back the bios to the factory bios (1.0). And just today the drivers and download page for this machine lists an even newer Bios update that is "Urgent" (whereas the prior update was "recommended" and listed cosmetic fixes and explorer access/usability, this one is a security fix). So I'm at a loss here. How do I proceed with this? In the Bios settings, bios rollback is enabled, but at this point, can it be? SHOULD it be? Should I actually go forward and flash to this new release since this is listed as a critical security update? This past flash seemingly went thru ok, though I frankly don't know if this is what is causing other issues with the OS right now, which I will continue to list below.

-safe mode with networking is inaccessible in troubleshooting- only thru msconfig. I had to manually uninstall antivirus software that didn't install properly (got interrupted), but needed to access safe mode with networking. I could only access via msconfig and clicking networking option. Otherwise power>shift>restart brought me to a troubleshoot options screen that is missing "startup settings", and going through settings in explorer got me the same result. All that shows up are

- startup repair

- command prompt

- uninstall updates

- UEFI firmware settings

- system restore

- system image recovery)

Reading around some more other posts on windows forum suggested running a repair from the usb stick- but that again brought me back to the troubleshoot screen with no "startup options". Eventually those posts suggested starting over with clean install. 

-automated driver downloads keep happening. Despite having OOShutup running to stop them, and having device installation settings set to "no" on automated driver downloads. I have yet to enable/install the group policy editor script gpedit.msc which I learned can control some of these automated winupdate driver installations, but again, i assumed that was the point of OOShutup- for whatever reason it isn't stopping it (hence the bios displeasure), despite enabling it right after starting the OOBE. What am I missing here?

-lastly audio jack issues. frankly low on the list of issues and reading around has shown it's likely a realtek audio driver issue/software problem others have had- not detecting the jack plugged in after startup (tho it works fine only when plugged in prior, just stops after unplugging and reverts to speakers). Along with the automated drivers, winupdate downloaded waves maxx software - not that I had planned on using it, but I did try the gui once it autodownloaded to see what it does- I also do not have camera enabled, so perhaps that is screwing with it, but can't even get the gui to load, so again, confused. It no longer shows up or is accessible despite being listed in the start menu and in device manager. I even went so far as to install support assist, which keeps listing the latest realtek driver as needing to be downloaded- I did, again, directly from dells support page, used the installer, restarted...and nothing changed. Support assist keeps highlighting the same driver for needing installation/download, despite device manager listing the most up to date driver. If I am to start over, hopefully this clears up, but likely I will have to come back and start a separate topic and/or look around more for answers.

That's all i can highlight and think of so far. My main questions boil down to how to proceed on the bios problems and whether I should just start over the the clean install as well- while I'm open to trying to fix what is wrong/missing or confused on my part with the install so far, perhaps a clean install with a newly created win11 bootable is the way to go with it? I'll also pursue more dell tech and software support as I go, but have already been advised there to keep flashing the bios for "smooth operation" which I understand is standard policy but is certainly not my ideal scenario, but honestly at this point I probably have no choice?

Pardon the long post, if anyone could provide any help, it would really be greatly appreciated- at this point I'm rather at a loss how to proceed, so thank you to anyone who can provide guidance. Best regards