Some of the stuff after Endgame tried to build up Kang as the next Big Bad, and Doomsday is taking things in a different direction after Marvel dropped Kang's actor, Jonathan Majors, due to his legal problems. So the lead up to this movie probably matters less than for Infinity War.

Don't forget shows. A bunch of them (not all) had story progression as well. Also to each their own, I found some movies were fun and some shows extremely good and worth watching. I do agree there was a lot of bad as well.

I've watched everything (movies and TV) leading up to this film and it's very clear to me that this movie is designed for people who dropped off after Endgame.

It's absolutely going to have things that callback or happened in previous films. We see a scene with the Fantastic Four, Wakanda + Namor and previously established Avengers groups.

Based just on what we saw in the trailer, Shang Chi, Thunderbolts, Wakanda Forever, & Fantastic Four are probably the best films to watch while also being solid films. The Loki TV series is also going to play a part and again also solid.

But don't make it homework for yourself. If you want to just jump in you'll be fine. Marvel is aware they haven't had a great track record, so this is definitely a reset film, in more than one way.

Part of me just knows they're doing this on purpose for some of that "Barbenheimer" synergy

I find that ok compared to recently hearing that the Rock is going to be Apocalypse...

What is AoT?