Starting from version 12 or 13 (don’t remember exactly) proprietary drivers have been included in the installation images, which removed the biggest pain point (IMO) for novice users.
Yes, from version 12. I have some kind of relationship with Debian (I like the philosophy behind it) so I have always wanted to use that when I was going to switch to Linux. Version 12 was what did it for me - removed the installation pain points, as you said. I would use it on any set-and-forget computers (like parents mail-and-web computer) if I get the chance.