only protected by an authenticator and nothing else and kept requiring I add a cell phone number to unlock the account

The thing you’re not supposed to use for 2FA?

limited options to choose

Making that choice is free will.

Yep.
There will just be more and larger communities. Many of them will just be tech-focused, and the discussions will move there.

From video by Vsauce.

Pricing is available right on the pricing page: https://tuta.com/pricing

I plan to perhaps, just maybe, I am not sure, to try self-hosting an email server. But I’ll need a good uptime.
Although I am really scared about security.