I enable the parts I want and not the rest. It really is that simple. Do you use every feature of every program you have? No, of course not. Nobody does.
I choose the level of protection I feel I need, and I cut out the overprotective and invasive bloat. That suits me just fine. 'Scary' anecdotes won't change that.
Avast used to be a fairly basic, lightweight, and unobtrusive AV. I liked that. Now that it adds all sorts of extra stuff, a lot of which isn't even AV, I just politely decline the offers to 'help' and keep to the basics. When Avast insists, I put my foot down. I always win