I agree, I can't be bothered with chip breakers, I use a mix of HSS and inserts, some of the inserts have chip breakers, and so be it. None of my HSS have breakers I simply can't see the point. I have seen people spend hours trying to perfect a chip breaker, by which time the whole job could have been done, and they could be sitting down with a beer.
I also agree with Fitterman1 keeping relief angles to a minimum, especially on outside turning they're almost redundant, but do need them for internal work.
So far I have only ever used 60 grit AO and occasionally the Dremel for making a form tool, I don't have any diamond wheels or laps. I don't even have a decent bench grinder at the moment, only a small belt sander 1" belt and only 300W I do my roughing with an angle grinder then finish on the belt. I have bought a bench grinder, but have yet to set it up
My go to tool for HSS is the Eccentric tools Diamond tool holder so sharpening is relatively simple, I have a box of 3/8 HSS from my apprentice days, so far none of them have needed re-sharpening.