

Have you tried “niri” wm? Pair it with dankmaterialshell or noctalia-shell for a desktop feeling (cosmic is also and option.)
The keyboard based control you are looking for is almost met, but not quite. That said, you might find this kind of a navigational wm works well for you, based on your description.
The niri website has a decent video demo.






Is there no reason to suspect your vm states are the cause?