What would be the recommended best-practice approach for designing and implementing Microsoft Intune as the centralized management platform for corporate Windows 11 laptops for users licensed with Microsoft 365 Business Premium?

We are looking to establish a secure, standardized, scalable, and maintainable endpoint management model that covers the entire device lifecycle, from provisioning and enrollment through ongoing management and eventual retirement.

Specifically, we would like guidance on the recommended architecture and policy baseline for Windows Autopilot, Microsoft Entra ID, Intune configuration and compliance policies, Conditional Access, Microsoft Defender, BitLocker, Windows Update, application deployment, and Windows LAPS.

One of our key requirements is to follow the principle of least privilege: end users should normally operate as standard users and should not be able to create unauthorized local accounts or add users to the local Administrators group. At the same time, IT needs a secure and manageable mechanism to perform administrative and support tasks when elevated privileges are required.

From Microsoft’s perspective, what would be the recommended Intune architecture, security baseline, and policy strategy for this scenario? Which policies should be considered essential, which should be optional, and are there any configurations or common mistakes you would recommend avoiding to prevent unnecessary operational complexity or user disruption?

We would also appreciate recommendations on how to structure device and user groups, policy assignments, pilot deployments, and phased rollout so that the environment remains secure but also practical for IT to operate and maintain over time.