TIMEMORE - D40+ / SD40 V2

I’m too lazy to read all of that so I’ll respond to your title. I got a Timemore espresso grinder for around your price that I’m happy with.

Just change the 1z for the timemore electric. Nobody likes manually grinding coffee firsr thing in the morning

The most important thing you need to decide is of you want a conical grinder or a flat burr grinder.  They will taste different. Conical grinders like the Niche are great for getting full bodied espresso.  Flat burr grinders can give you more flavor clarity if you want to do the occasional light roast (they are also good for traditional espresso but maybe a little harder to dial in than the Niche). Among the flat burrs the DFs work great but quality control is apparently hit or miss. My df64 gen 1 was definitely in the "hit" category and has been bullet proof, but I did buy upgraded ssp mp burrs both to accentuate clarity and to make sure they will do a burr alignment before shipping it out.  If you don't want to play that lotto something like the Time More might be better.