Mostly, if You have latest i7 turbo 16 core 64 GB DDR 5 (
) RAM PC, background processes is harmless.
Yes, network presence with DAW doesn't harm the workflow. I suggest to tweak Windows 10 (and every Windows) update and restart settings. Group policy editor (GPE) is right tool to disable automatic Windows updates and, most important - automatic restarts (in middle of recording
) Sure, automatic restarts is configurable without GPE too, but not in advanced level. Google GPE.
I'm bit oldscool too in these aspects. If my PC is ONLY DAW, than i want to PC do things, that i want, not the things PC (Microsoft) wants.
There is lot of background process, but good news is that, Windows can manage process priority. If You activly doing something, Windows won't run many background processes. Task Scheduler is full of them.
Yes, i hate 200 MB integrated soundcard drivers and other bloatware sh*t. It's sitting in taskbar, eating resources and do nothing useful.