I think if you're opting for an HWW you're already choosing convenience so you have to accept the trade-offs, companies want to brand their products. While I agree it does present a target, I don't think its the be all and end all

You can have a signing device just don't keep too much on it, and even if they nick it as long as you're not keeping your seedphrase close by it's pretty meaningless. Your signing device should have a password/passcode/bricking ability so that should sort that out

As for having one that is less obvious, you can always create your own with the seedsigner project or tailOS, which won't look to obvious and you can customize it as you like, just be sure to store it safely or someone could pick it up thinking it's just a play toy or USB they want to stick some files on.