There is a hidden gotcha for people who avoid using a Microsoft account to log in to a personal Windows machine.
It has become common for a new laptop to be supplied with bitlocker disk encryption enabled, without the user being aware.
If you log on using a Microsoft Account then the bitlocker key gets stored in the account. Microsoft can give the key to police or feds when they seize a laptop. If Windows stops booting for some reason, or the key gets erased from the TPM which is not uncommon, then to take the drive out of the computer and retrieve your files you need the key and you can get it from the Microsoft account.
If someone jumps through the hoops to avoid using a Microsoft account then later they can find they can't take the disk/ssd out and read it by connecting it to another computer. If the computer stops booting, they did not save the bitlocker key because they did not know the drive was encrypted and did not have an up to date backup then, oh no, they have permanently lost their files.
If Windows gets as far as reading the bitlocker key from the TPM chip (which happens before user log in), then sometimes it is possible to solder wires to the I2C bus, record the data with a hardware logic analyzer and spend a week customizing some software from github to extract the bitlocker key. If someone takes their personal windows laptop to a local computer shop or IT department then they almost certainly are not capable of that. Some models of laptop, intended for business, have a BIOS option to erase the TPM if opening of the laptop case is detected.
There is a security choice between:
1) Bitocker encryption and MS account: If my laptop gets lost or stolen then whoever has it will find it very difficult to access my files but Microsoft can prevent me logging in to my own computer, if I don't have access to the email I used for the Microsoft account or the Microsoft account password then I may loose my files later.
2) No disk encryption. Someone who steals or finds my laptop can access my files.
3) Bitlocker and windows login with an MS account. If you don't have backups and you didn't save the bitlocker key then you may be screwed later.
I hate Microsoft trying to force me to use a Microsoft account on a personal Windows laptop and I hate the boobytrap of bitlocker that you did not know was in use even more.
