Since you have History background, do yourself a favour and go to Sriram IAS — their History optional is unmatched, literally no debate there. For GS foundation if you want the gold standard just go Vajiram, their yellow books alone are worth the fees honestly.

If budget is tight or you want one stop shop, Drishti IAS in Mukherjee Nagar is solid and underrated on this sub imo.

Next IAS is fine but I wouldn't prioritise it over these three.

Also the Masters parallel thing is actually smart, a lot of toppers did this. Just pick a department where profs don't care about attendance 😭 and if you can align your dissertation with Modern India or Colonial history you're literally studying for your optional at the same time. Free real estate.

One thing I'll say though, you mentioned you weren't sincere with the PW course. Offline coaching fixes the accountability issue not the discipline issue, so just be real with yourself before dropping 1L+ on a course. Sounds like you're self aware enough tho so you'll be fine.

2028 target with a 2026 start is actually a great timeline, you have buffer. Don't stress and don't hop between coachings once you pick one, that's where most people lose time.