It is an awful experience indeed. I switched to Kiwi browser when Chrome forced tab groups on everyone with no option to disable it. Kiwi has add-on support and removes many of Chrome's annoying aspects. I could never go back to browsing on mobile without add-ons like uBlock Origin and Sticky Ducky.

Isn't Kiwi really outdated though?

Never heard of Sticky Ducky, will add. For me, the other essential to install on Kiwi is Bypass Paywalls.