I had Windows 10 do it once over however many years i was using it (was a fairly early adopter), and Windows 11 has never done it.
Anyone who can easily use Linux can just make Windows not do that kind of shit, and not auto-update, and block the connection from basically all Windows processes.
I don’t use a case, just a screen protector. Been through a lot of screen protectors but the phone has taken a pretty solid beating and still functions like new with exception of battery life. Not sure a case is necessary unless Xiaomi make unusually resilliant phones which I think is unlikely.