I use Obsidian exclusively now and yet I use it with over 100 folders. It’s not an either or situation. I also do a lot of linking. I link a lot of my thoughts into MOC/TOC type notes or when they are subordinate pieces of a main note but I also organize notes in folders in ways that make sense to me.
In spite of the scoffing at the graph view in Obsidian I find it useful to find orphaned notes that often can be combined with some other note or are no longer relevant so I use un-linked stuff as a way to prune my note collection.
I also have both a open random note and open a random note from a search button and when I am spinning my wheels at the computer on something and need a short break I “roll the dice” a few times. When I read the resulting note I can often clean it up, add properties in the front matter as I’ve changed by note templates quite a bit since Ii started or improve the note by making a summary at the top or whatever seem appropriate. I can also decide the note was worthless and delete it, About 10% of the time that a note I randomly see can either be combined into another note or deleted. I like the random nature of cleaning up my notes over time and it also gives me an overall view of what I am keeping there I can’t get any other way.
I frequently use my Farley file notes on people and so I do make a point to link their names into everything that is appropriate. I also use some review type task and dataview queries to get a feel for what I’ve been working on and my daily note/journal is also critical for me in finding stuff. I link project notes in it on the days I worked on specific projects and then when I review the project I have a quick overview of the days I worked on it by looking at the backlinks.
I’ve found Obsidian’s smart linking is very good. I can start a link and type a few things and I get a list of choices for what note to link. Most of the time the one I want is in the top 5 options. YMMV