Anti virus software - posting here for traffic

[Stressedout65]

Sorry this is on the wrong page, but posting here for traffic. I've got to get some anti virus software for my laptop. I'm baffled by all the info & opinions on the Internet. The last one I had was an expensive macafee & it didn't half slow the laptop down.
I'm contemplating free anti virus software. Can anyone give their recommendations on free v paid for software & the best ones out there please?

Avira security suite, free version.

Completely unobtrusive, doesn't resource hog, doesn't pester you to upgrade.

Ignore paid/subscription antivirus, they really aren't worth the money and are an absolute pain to get rid of.

avast also good. Moneysavingexpert always has good guides/explanation

www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/free-anti-virus-software/

To be honest, you have to be pretty ignorant or deliberately intransigent to even encounter a virus these days. I do pretty much anything anyone will ever use a PC for, and I don't think I've even had an alert since about 2015. OS have built-in and constantly updated protection and firewalls now, so really you are only looking for something that adds a layer on top of that, that you can use to scan for malware and that sort of thing. You want it to be as unobtrusive and resource-light as possible, set it to scan once a week on a Sunday or at a time where you are not likely to be desperately needing to do something on the PC at that particular moment, let it update automatically, then forget all about it.

Most of the free stuff will be more than adequate for what you want, but I've long been a fan of Avira because it's the least annoying, pestering, and resource-hogging of the lot.

AVG is also good and free. I generally have the free version of Malwarebytes in addition to whatever virus software I'm using, but only to run additional scans manually.