It's not entirely about XMR to BTC or BTC to XMR, it also depend on the way you get those coin before.
Doesn't XMR help make it impossible to search blockchains to get to your Bitcoin before the swap?
You can use Bisq or other exchange that allow you to connect via Tor.
After Monero Wallet I'm planning to test & review Bisq
I usually see people recommending Cake wallet. It's open source, lightweight and you can use it to connect to your own node (which is obviously better in terms of privacy regardless of the coin).
Cake wallet doesn't have Windows version. I'll use Feather wallet or GUI.
Some people might be able to give you a better answer on what makes Monero a "good privacy coin" but overall, it's not possible to see the addresses balances, as well as the amounts and addresses of a transaction.
If that's how Monero's working to give privacy it's a welcome for users who'll prefer privacy as priority. It's up to users to take other precautions.
Using a centralized exchange would obviously reduce your anonymity because they could keep certain data of your transactions when processing it (time, amount, the address you withdrew funds to, the bitcoin addresses you deposited from, etc.)
So for increasing privacy you're best avoid centralised exchange because it's leaving data behind. Instant exchanges with VPN's better for anonymity.
Thanks I'll look at the articles you've posted.