> rEFInd is _so_ much simpler

TBH I've only used it for Hackintoshes and BSDs. I don't know why you'd want it.

But I am finding this hard to post on account of this big hairy grey thing with a long prehensile nose that's in the way...

They only work on UEFI. I don't like UEFI. I have kit in near-daily use that doesn't have UEFI at all.

GRUB works on BIOS, UEFI, x86, Arm, whatever. It boots Linux, all the BSDs, Haiku, whatever. So GRUB wins.

I hate GRUB for its hostility and unfriendliness and impenetrability... But it does the job on more kit than, well, any of the alternatives.

does it support encrypted /boot though?

does refind support secure boot and measured boot? I loathe pretty much anything systemd but systemd-boot gives me this with zero effort, and it's legitimately useful

Or just use systemd-boot which uses BLS thus there are no config files.

Systemd-boot is my choice for any simple boot scenario. Love it. Agreed that grub is a mess

There's also systemd-boot, which seems to be getting more popular.

https://systemd.io/BOOT/