A sensible approach, Adam. I've watched AV product ratings over the years and the #1 one selects today may be the #2, 3, or lower in six months time, or even in a different rating tomorrow!
This is another Interesting view from PC Mag:
https://uk.pcmag.com/antivirus/8141/the-best-antivirus-protection
Which I think sensibly doesn't give a top ten list but has editor's choices based on different factors. In practice what suits one person may not another depending what add ons one wants, eg VPNs, or features - perhaps speed of scanning is important or ease of configuration. (As I say, In my experience the chart lists aren't always that helpful as they can change every few months or differ between evaluations and you're not going to swap products every couple of month!)
Remember, no AV scanner finds or removes 100% of malware. (When Message Labs, the original internet email scanning service, now part of Symantec, started they used four different AV products in parallel.) So whatever AV you use make sure it's software and signatures are kept up-to-date and scans regularly - but also keep your OS and other software updated with security patches, use strong passwords - a password safe is advisable and use two factor authentication on important services (eg banking) where it's available, using a VPN on public WiFi if using services such as on-line banking is recommended (but check the T&Cs of free ones), keep devices secured physically so they can't be tampered with, delete suspicious looking emails.
Michael Ixer ● 1353d