You do realise that even though it’s not one of the official Mint variants, it’s still possible to install Gnome on Mint with minimal fuss?
Defaults matter because most people just don’t change them. Also that’s a terrible idea, you’ll run into loads of issues and a lack of support for troubleshooting.
Thing is, everyone has a phone now, and they spend an inordinate amount of time on it. Though I’m not excited about recommending Fedora either, the fact that it doesn’t enable non-free software by default causes a bunch of issues.
Windows interface is also stuck in 2005, and the evidence suggests most people prefer that.
Does it? Most people are spending all their time on their cell phone these days, and that’s much closer to Gnome’s UI. But yeah, anyone accustomed to windows will be better on Mint and cinnamon, however everyone else will be better off on Gnome.
You might not, but it’s certainly easier to use devices when they behave in similar ways. Like I usually install linux on my relatives PCs simply because if they run into an issue I can troubleshoot it much faster.