If you're new to modal editing, it really doesn't matter all that much what your tool of choice is, since the most important thing is getting familiar and comfortable with a new way of approaching text editing.

Keybindings can be changed, whether or not a program has "good/better defaults" is relatively moot. I use the vim plugin in VS Code when I use VS Code for web dev. If I'm in Rider for game dev, I use the vim plugin there too. If i'm dabbling with Rust, then Helix works for me. If I stumble across a pretty looking rice for NeoVim, I'll give that a shot for a weekend drive.

I gave up on the search for the "magic bullet" editor. Some are just better suited for certain languages/workflows, and sometimes you'll have to jump ships when joining a different company or project. Fortunately, saving, migrating and syncing your preferred settings is easier than ever before, and it will only continue to get increasingly frictionless, so don't fret picking the perfect editor.