MacOS is basically unusable without logging into an Apple account, your logic does not follow.
This said, MacOS seems to be slowly but surely taking over former Windows use cases both in business and homes. If I had to guess why, it's probably the consistent, coherent GUI across the entire Apple ecosystem. People use computers to get shit done, after all.
It depends if you mean the OS + cloud services + app store, or just having an OS to run programs. The former definitely needs the Apple ID, but the latter doesn't. When I first switched back to macOS I refused any Apple ID linkage during OOBE and it never asked again. I just used Nextcloud, Firefox, LibreOffice and FOSS utilities, everything worked.
Later I did connect it after researching Apple's privacy policies, encryption methods and on-device processing - afaik I'm getting the cloud goodness without Apple selling my data, and that was enough to sway me.
I use a Mac at my job with no Apple ID linked to it. What am I missing out on? It's not like you need to use the App Store to get software, so that's not it.
Though that was 2 years ago - has it changed?
(Homebrew also just installs it automatically now, without needing any user intervention.)
EDIT: Maybe you were put off by the insane time estimate that it presents for some reason? It quotes a multi-day installation time that ends up only taking a few minutes. Maybe Apple will fix that someday.