The worst part of k8s is definitely its configuration system. I don’t like helm as it’s combining packaging, templating and deployment lifecycle.
I feel like each of this components should’ve been its own abstraction.
It should've been, and it can be. There's nothing official or special about Helm, just don't use it.
So just don't use Helm. It's not a core, crucial, or required part of k8s, it's just a reasonably popular related project... That I usually ban from environments before the rot can take root.