Great writeup! You are correct that the skeleton is there in a “unix philosophy” manner. Depending on preferences and use cases, it could be perfectly functional.

When I was first getting my media server going I experimented with a more minimal solution like this. Eventually I went with jellyfin and kodi as a client on some devices. I like all the structure. Jellyfin is a bit of a drag to use due to bloat. Kodi is lighter on the client end.

I shared my files via SMB on the local network. First used VLC player to watch on mobile. It’s robust. There is also an android MPV player available if you wish. If you have a lot of media it gets tiresome to navigate throug with either of those. Nova Video Player does some of stuff you’d normally offload to a server like remembering what you’ve already watched. So that was good, but then instead of having the bloat on the server, you have bloat on the phone, which is less convenient. I disagree that consuming media solely via a PC is civilized. It’s tolerable in certain situations.

If you have other people to share with who aren’t inclined this way, it’s kind of a jerk move to force them to accommodate this aesthetic preference. Even if not wanting to run jellyfin there are sleeker media serving solutions available for a middle ground. If it’s just for yourself and other kindred spirits, then no reason not to indulge in the minimalism to whatever degree you find satisfying.