Introducing credit monitoring and privacy protection for Microsoft Defender

I am trying to understand how important the Defender app is for a home user. I am retired and on fixed income. I pay $79 a year for Norton 360 with a 10 user license and was hoping that the built in Windows Defender would be able to provide the same functionality and protection as Norton 360. I purchased a standalone Office 2016 back when I was working and it more than satisfies my needs as it pertains to Office. I can not get a clear understanding of what benefits if any there are from having the Defender app. I am trying to save money without losing protection. If the Defender app is needed for the same capabilities and protection as Norton then there’s no benefit in spending $99 a year vs. $79. As is there aren’t any independent studies rating Defender vs Norton. As a retired IT professional who has been trained, certified and used Microsoft software for the last half century, I am disappointed that Microsoft is taking the approach that they are at this time with this ridiculous bundling of Defender with the office 365.