[…] but I don’t want a Windows clone, […]
KDE fortunately doesn’t have to be a Windows clone. There are several guides available on how to customize the UX / workflow to something completely different. I get what you mean, though, the default UX seems to be at least inspired by Windows.
Pop Shell can actually be used on other distros. Here’s how: https://support.system76.com/articles/pop-shell/