WHY am I being FORCED to deal with Microsoft edge?

As much as I agree with all of the opinions it is technical insurance for problem solving. As much as microsoft does not take part in protecting your quality or production, they simply comply with a standard compliment. and it is also a branding issue for empowerment of large companies. the browsing experience alone doesn't even have to be done on the internet.

You should try;

https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9NGB5S5XG2KP

Quite correct.  It is obvious to me that most commentators on here are either MS employees or they buy into the MS system.  Most people I know do NOT "agree" to a MS license.  It is what is known as a "contract of adhesion" -- 

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A contract of adhesion refers to a contract drafted by one party in a position of power, leaving the weaker party to “take it or leave it.” Adhesion contracts are generally created by businesses providing goods or services in which the customer must either sign the boilerplate contract or seek services elsewhere.

I don't use Apple Laptops or Chromebooks because of their closed environment.  What the shills on here are blind to or refuse to acknowledge is that (a) a browser is NOT an integral part of an OS except to the uninformed; (b) until this recent forced EDGE intrusion in my life I was able to uninstall it, proving that prior point; (c) a contract of adhesion is not enforceable and can be broken IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to fight it; (d) I hope Australia or the European Union brings suit against MS to break this unwarranted tying of two unrelated products in restraint of trade.

I use Firefox and Brave as browsers.  They work quite well with MS products that I use, OneDrive and Word.  To say Edge works better with MS products is uninformed.  BTW, I have a 512Gb drive in both my computers.  But I am 84 and a volunteer tech advisor in my complex of 750 elderly residents and many have purchased what the stores sell. I personally do not want to have any of my drives filled with programs that I do not use or want, including Edge--which has copied Chrome and is now "almost as good" as Chrome, which I also do not use because of the practice to collect my browsing habits and sell them to advertisers.  I also refuse to use MS sign in, and even though I now have to use it when I first set up my computer, my first step thereafter is to shift to a local account.