Which web analytics tool is considered the best nowadays?

I'm relatively new to web analytics and have been looking into the the various options and what might best work for my use case. Specifically, I'm building 3 different types of WordPress websites:

1. a simple corporate site,
2. a blog/info site (with ad sense/affiliate monetization). and
3. an ecommerce site

All three will be in Japanese and target viewers/consumers in Japan. So while I probably don't need to be too concerned about compliance with EU/US privacy laws, I do have plans to create additional sites that will be in English with a global audience..

With that in mind, I'm looking for a future-proof analytics tool that is consistent across all of the website types and languages, clean and easy to use, but also sophisticated enough to cover potential monetization/marketing on the blog/ecommerce sites where necessary.

After looking into several products, my candidates so far are:

• Google Analytics 4 (using Site Kit)
• Plausible Analytics
• ExactMetrics
• MonsterInsights
• Independent Analytics

All of these have pros/cons and I'm not really sure which option would be the way to go.

Some basic questions I have are:

1. Wouldn't it be best to use GA4 alongside one of the other third-party alternatives to get the best of both worlds? GA4 is free and comprehensive (and could serve like a backup option) while one of the third-party tools would be simpler and better for everyday use?
2. Will using GA4 + another analytics tool significantly affect page speed?
3. How long of a data retention is standard or 'enough' these days? I believe GA3/UA used to be unlimited — but now it seems most options have a limit.
4. Obviously we can switch between these tools, but will that create a 'gap' in the analytics when switching between tools? Or are there export/import features where we can transfer data over from one platform to another — how does this work?
5. Is GA4 really that bad for a analytics beginner like myself? Or can most people/clients manage despite all the negativity I see surrounding it.
6. Plausible, ExactMetrics and MonsterInsights all are subscriptions, while Independent has a one-time LTD. I don't mind investing in a one-time fee if its worth it and has growth potential, but what are your thoughts on Independent Analytics over the other ones, especially when it comes to monetized blogs and ecommerce sites?

I also saw that others like Matomo, Fathom, Simple Analytics, AnalyticsWP. etc. are all popular too. But they seemed either a little too complicated (Matomo) or too simple (Simple/AnalyticsWP) for what I wanted, among other impressions I had over their UI/UX. So for now, I've crossed those off my list.

Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.