I haven't used any in years, yet they are eating into system resources.

You need to subtract stuff, not add more of it ...

To improve performance on Windows 11, you can safely end processes like unused apps, bloatware (e.g., Copilot, Phone Link), high-resource processes, and peripheral-related programs via Task Manager.

To fix the Photos app slowing down your Windows 11 PC, try these steps: disable it from startup via Settings or Task Manager, tweak in-app settings to turn off background performance, reset or repair ...