If you are using linux, drive formatting is important, make sure you use NTFS otherwise if you use a common linux format like ext4, Windows won't be about to read it if you transferred the drive to another computer.
If you prefer the Windows interface but are concerned about the bloatware, I recommend Windows Enterprise LTSC. Its available on
archive.org. You're going to have the 'activate windows' watermark and enterprise keys are either difficult to find or expensive, but there are
removal scripts you can run at startup
For media hosting I use Emby which has apps for smart TVs, Android and iPhone. I have 4 Roku TVs and a pull down projector with a tiny Roku box that can access my ~700GB of movies, TV shows and anime at any time. Depending on your router, you should be able to set up NAT so you can access Emby from basically anywhere, and you can set up user credentials and accessibility restrictions.