After experimenting with Kodi and Android TV on a Raspberry Pi I decided to try using a linux mini-PC instead and this has worked much better. I am using CachyOS and I think any distro running the KDE Plasma desktop is the best choice for this setup. I run this on an old Intel NUC that handles 1080p video much better than the Pi 4.
There are just a few things that you need to setup to make this work well for media.
It may be easier to use the updated Plasma Big Screen mode or lauch applications from Steam big picture mode but I have not seen a need to set this up.
Once you are comfortable with this you can disconnect the TV from the internet to prevent it from running spyware (all modern smart TVs run spyware and it is a major revenue generator for the TV companies). If you are using a de-googled android smart phone then you are now spyware free (just like we used to be) and you have basically the same modern conveniences of a smart TV.