Whenever an individual asks me about the best way to backup their personal computer, I point them to the Macrium Reflect product. It has a free version, making it very easy to try out, and the free version is actually very full featured, probably enough for most people. Of course, they can always pay for a license, giving them support and some additional useful features, if they like it. I used it to backup my daughter's laptop before she went away for school several years ago. Now she is going away ......
Maybe I missed something. Maybe there was one option I did find and turn on that the Windows Update download would not occur until I said to download it, but maybe there is another option somewhere that says don't install it until I say to, and yet another option that says don't reboot until I say to. Is that really asking too much? I worked great for me for years!