Have you found if there is any way to disable smtp for a new installation? Seemed like that is necessary to work at least for sending an administrator activation e-mail to start new site, but maybe that can be bypassed somehow.
E-mails can be annoying and frustrating, but don’t know if they are going to be eliminated from the internet anytime soon. Seems intrinsic for a lot of systems need e-mail to work.
Had better luck with brevo for free smtp sending than mailgun can be more challenging/confusing.