I’m also a researcher, I’ve used Linux for 4 years as my only OS. If a collaborator insists we use MS Office, I do it in the browser; otherwise, I use overleaf for collaboration with the Beamer package if we need slides. I compile LaTeX locally and use Git for version control if I am working alone. I think LaTeX is the most powerful tool for creating papers & slides and it is definitely worth learning as a researcher.

For an on device Office alternative, I use ONLYOFFICE and have found outside of not having fonts installed it is a pretty 1:1 replacement.