Linux is Linux.
We should send all those people, pages and guides suggesting distros to hell.
And then instead we suggest update-schemes (fixed, rolling, slow-roll), package managers and Desktop environments. People with enough brain cells to start a computer are then absolutely able to chose a distro fitting them based on that. Everything else coming with a distro is just themeing/branding anyway…
(and just for the use statistic: Archlinux, Opensuse (Leap and Kalpa), Debian here…)
You could…
But then one is an open system where you can disable the UI put on top and have a working linux system, while the other is a closed blob destroying compatibility and trying hard to lock you out from accessing the underlying linux system.