You can bookmark any customised page you like as your default. I made a custom stream to show latest threads as I like to scan across the forum and rarely use the main index unless I’m looking for something specific.
I say with this new forum just wait and see how it develops. If we end up with people getting lost then we can move it, not that I’m the one who’s deciding.
I do still feel that pinned threads are a waste of time and counterproductive. Popular threads will stay near the top if they’re popular. Participants will be able to find them if they’re following. And pinning things is a good way to make them invisible, as usually the pinned stuff is rules and other T&Cs which again I’d argue don’t need pinning - there are better options such as announcements, forum sub pages and so forth nowadays.