I read somewhere, and was told elsewhere, that Windows 11 does not use Local Accounts and that you have to sign in with your Microsoft Account unless you specifically go out of your way to make a Local Account work?
Not to worry. You absolutely can, and I do, use local accounts in Windows 11. What is true is that you must have (or create) a Microsoft account to do a clean install of Windows 11, where you erase the hard drive and reinstall Windows. You also need to have or create a Microsoft account when you first setup a PC from one of the big manufacturers, which is akin to a clean install.
And yes, there are workarounds that people have tried. I disagree with that, but that's a topic for another day. For your other questions:
Upgrading does not change your accounts from being local accounts to Microsoft accounts, and it does not move user accounts into different user groups, e.g., moving an account from the Administrators group to the Users group.
Upgrading doesn't cause you to lose anything, not apps and not your personal files. Nevertheless, it's always a good idea to backup before making any major change to your computer, because stuff happens.
While nobody needs to sign in to Windows with a Microsoft account, everybody needs to have a Microsoft account, because so much of what Microsoft offers is only available if you can supply a Microsoft username and password.
With all that said, when the time comes, you might want to consider a clean install of Windows 11 rather than upgrading to Windows 11, because a clean install is by far the best way to install an operating system.
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