Framework laptops solve this by having physical switches for the camera and microphone at the top of edge of the screen. Can’t get safer than that except for physical removal.

If you just want CAD without CAM then the free variant of OnShape is amazing.

It’s different because of how the pins are connected. C-to-A uses 4 or 5 pins (with or without id pin) out of 24 in total for USB C. My guess is that it negotiates differently in that scenario. I’m guessing those problematic USB C devices only connect those 4 or 5 pins and don’t properly “talk USB C”.

And if you want it to be USB A or HDMI for a day, you just swap ‘m out! More brands should do this.

I have a microcontroller project that doesn’t do well with USB C, so I unexpectedly had to swap a C port for an A port. It’s amazing that this is possible.