You just described exactly why I would install an Atomic distribution.

So they can't run something they don't understand, and end up nuking their install.

The biggest differences in usage (dnf vs rpm-ostree) essentially function as a knowledge/intelligence filter to prevent fuckups.

Everything I value is against "how long it will work without issue", "how quick is an update", and finally "how much effort do I need to help maintain it".

Atomic systems have netted me positives on all my values. The people I know who used atomic, have only approached me due to edge cases such as specific laptop fan issues, which weren't hindered by the atomic system.

They're both terrible choices for a beginner - constant version churn every six months confuses newcomers, some initial brokenness after every new release - Fedora would be the last distro I'd install.