IMO if you are using a companies VPN then the larger the company, the more chance it’s data is being exfiltrated. Looking at you Nord.
If you know how to host your own then your risk goes dramatically down. Although for anonymity you should choose a cloud that you don’t need to give your personal info to. Good luck with that.
This is why criminals rely on hacked devices. No credit card needed.
If you are simply torrenting some media then no one is looking at you anyway. Pretty much any VPN or location would be fine for that.
Your security posture should relate to your risk.
RIP Win7. You did what no other Windows could do. You had functioning components.