if you dig around in in gpedit you can stop the downloads altogether [win 10 pro] - but I don't want to do this - what I want is to shut the computer down [or leave it] without updates happening if they are pending, and the way to do that is to hibernate it - as long as it does not reboot unexpectedly I'm happy - extended active hours is the way to go for me

there is a lot of 'butterfly effect' in setting group policies, I like the simple life these days

as far as I can see the task scheduler, services, and registry fixes are, up to a point, either just temporary or hacks that may have consequences

EDIT - hibernate does mean you have to pay attention to power settings and wake timers... wouldn't want it waking up unexpectedly - easyist with a desktop, just flick off the main switch on the PSU, and it can't wake up