I think your stategy should be one service at a time. Do everything in docker, and start by tackling a simpler service. For example, you should try paperless-ngx. Absolute game changer. I didnt realize how much managing ny own directory structure sucked until I used this. Then, grow your service list more and more!
This is a fantastic list I've bookmarked, thanks. But I do want to highlight OP's first point where it says:
...they are too confusing because they list too many apps for each category.
Might be a little more beneficial for OP to highlight a couple useful for their use case that are fairly beginner friendly? I'd do it but I'm basically in the same boat as OP right now, lol