edit: seems to me one should avoid setting the network server to a specific Electrum node but instead leave it on automatic to hopefully connect to multiple servers for your addy balances (assuming you aren't going to use a personal server or want to use a VPN instead).
Correct... generally the best course of action would be to leave it on "Auto"... and simply use a VPN to hide your IP if that is your sole concern (and you're not wanting to run a personal server etc).
so do we know how many servers Electrum pulls balances from in Auto mode? will it sometimes just pull from one?
can one run an ElectrumX server with Bitcoin Core in prune mode?