Looks like there is a mod on Modrinth called No More Villages. I haven't tested it or anything but that might be what you are looking for?

There would probably be a way by replacing the structure files of anything you don't want with empty versions instead.

Yep, I understand. For several years I played on my girlfriend's brother's account until I finally bit the bullet.

Not that I know of, however it's a one-time purchase with constant updates and new content additions. Also don't bother with the "Deluxe Collection". It's just a money grab.

As I have recently contemplated beginning an ambitious wall project, I'm now starting to think maybe I shouldn't...

I will always maintain that Minecraft is a horror game. As a new player in 2011, my first experience of night time was absolutely terrifying! Being chased by the hostile mobs, I kept running into the night until I fell into a 2 deep 1x1 hole at which point a small horde of zombies jumped in with me.

This is actually so pretty, holy cow.

With Structure Blocks! I even have a tutorial that shows how I did it. Basically I just built 4 different copies of the windmill blades, save each as a frame, and then load them one after the other.

Wow, I really like these city ruins builds. Makes me think of Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Tutorial
youtu.be/XjM_B6R06Ps?...

Tutorial
youtu.be/3QKo1rTkk2U?...

Tutorial
youtu.be/zhe8dC2jEsQ?...

Tutorial
youtu.be/3VfHLuZZBa0?...

I didn't know I needed a Baby Blaze in my life but now I do!

I only just recently found out about and watched AvM. Which is crazy considering I've made an animated windmill in Minecraft before.

Nice flags! I would love to see them animated with Structure Blocks. It's actually pretty easy imo. I've got a tutorial if you're interested.

Maybe check out my tutorial videos and see if they help you. Fair warning my first video (the Windmill) is pretty low quality, but I've improved since then.

In my opinion, no. It's just a Redstone activated block that loads a frame of your animation. There is however a little bit to learn when it comes to dealing with the game menus, but I think it's a lot more intuitive than trying to use command blocks.