Hello @CirqueL, and welcome to the forum!
If you create your own workspace and restart Krita, Krita will open the last used workspace, you don’t need to delete the default beforehand to create a new default.
Unfortunately, I think there was no fix found so far for the issue you describe, and the own workspace is the best “solution” to take the most pain out of it. But I may be wrong, and only can’t remember that it was fixed, because for me this was never an issue. So, maybe someone steps in and can say that it is fixed now in Krita 5.2.2?!
Okay, you clearly state that you don’t want to update, and that is your decision, but I can assure you, you will miss many cool new things, and additionally every bug-fix made in between.
You should take a look at the Rotating light brushtips WIP bundle, where the new RGBA-brush-tips and their capabilities are shown at its very best. I have to admit that it is a very long topic, but if you scroll through it, you’ll be rewarded with some demonstrations of their capabilities, this bundle alone is one of the best reasons to do the step forward.
Did you know that Krita 5 can use MyPaint-Brushes due to its new brush-engine, or that the new resource management has simplified resource-handling?
By the way, if you like to check out new brushes, take a look in our Brushes and Bundles category.
Additionally, plugins like Shortcut Composer v1.5.3 - Plugin for Pie menus, Multiple key assignment, Mouse trackers and more!, or maybe one of the three plugins connecting Krita with Blender, or the one connecting Krita with Inkscape, each with its own use cases, all found in our resource category together with many other plugins, are good reasons to do the step forward, because Krita 4 can’t handle these plugins.
All these points may be a good reason to switch too. But as I said, it is your decision to deprive yourself of these possibilities.
Michelist