I picked up Phoenix Point because I was feeling that XCOM itch and knew if it wasn't this I would start a Long War game of XCOM2 which would probably take 2 years to finish if I did at all.
Far Cry 5 is $6 and though I'm not particularly tempted I've heard good things.
Mad Max is $2 and if you haven't played it I would say it most certainly a bargain at that price. It is fairly boilerplate open world where you take towers and bases to gather resources for upgrades and eventually unlock tougher and tougher zones. The vehicle combat is really the standout and your car is the star of the show. Just tearing around the desert is fun in itself. Taking caravans is particularly cinematic and satisfying to eventually bag one that you just weren't quite able to before your latest upgrade. Unfortunately the base assault and dismounted fighting is pretty forgettable with batman arkham-style auto-target with quicktime blocking that doesn't change very much as you unlock new abilities. My 2nd favorite open world game after shadow of mordor/war.
The original is a lot more arcadey, which means its such a joy to play that you can just redo your favorite little sections and then stop playing and be satisfied.
REmake wants you to do the multitude of "challenge" runs for its Checklist of achievements. A lot of which are fun to do, but have to be done on an immediate replay as trying them after a year gap will be far less fun than just playing normally, not to mention way harder with forgotten knowledge.
And, as you said, the speedrun requirement on many of them (and nearly all the ones with good unlocks) basically ruins the fun as speedrunning a game is often the worst way to enjoy it. Doing Prof on the original was a game of replaying sections to be smarter and more deliberate in my actions to make them count, while doing the Prof Rank S+ was a game of praying shots landed because I didn't have time to aim.