Okay .. first they took away my XP - and now I’m too incompetent to choose if I want to take updates automatically ..???????
How do I get off this disaster train ..??
The traditional answer is "Get a Mac" or "Get Linux". :-)
Personally I'd recommend a Mac over Linux about 70/30 for convenience unless you're a techie type. The mental shift from Windows to Mac isn't nearly as bad as it's hyped to be. The shift from Windows to Linux is likewise not as bad as commonly believed, but it is true that you spend more time dealing with the computer (as a computer) than you would with a Mac.
If you prefer to stick with Windows, my advice is to use Win 7. Win 8 is dead and will fall the rest of the way over soon, and Win 10 is the thing you're trying to avoid.
Since I spend time on all of them every day -- Windows, Linux, Mac OSX, BSD Unix,... I just install updates for all the systems as they arrive and accept the inconvenience as cost of doing business and pleasure.
They are going to push the important security and OS updates, but as far as I know the low priority or optional updates are still optional, to the best of my knowledge.