Stellaris 3.6 Build Advice

[Frost of Autumn]

Hello :D

I'm trying to figure out a build that would work for me against Grand Admiral (GA) AI or against highly experienced players.

I own all the DLCs.

I've really taken a liking to Hivemind/Machine Intelligence, but I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing.

For Machine Intelligence, I really liked it because I could just generate energy, minerals and alloys. I also liked it because I could colonise any planet right off the bat without environment factors, and immortal ruler/leaders. For traits I've run Rapid Replicator because like any strategy game, population=eco=military. For my second trait, I would run Determined Exterminator but unless I'm playing against ONLY players, I'll get absolutely destroyed by GA AI in half an hour to an hour. I've tried using Driven Assimilator but it feels really awkward to use (my second faction was lithoids because they eat rocks so it's still 3 resources like with machines).
Other than that, Rogue servitor doesn't suit me.
I would run either OTA Updates, Maintenance protocols or Unitary Cohesion as my secondary but it feels lack luster compared to the "big three" (Driven,Exterminator,Rogue).
I really love machine intelligence but Idk what to do to make it work qwq

Hive-mind I'm new to, but I'm a little sceptical about it only because of the food.
On the other hand, I like it because Gestait Consc.
I run Aquatic (Ocean world output bonuses) and Budding (Monthly organic pop assembly.
***Quick Question, can I stake hivemind planet with Aquatic after I turn an ocean planet to a hive planet or is it exclusively to ocean planets?***
For origin, I run Progenitor Hive for passive exp, more resources and offspring ships (still not 100% sure how it and offspring ships work). I could also run tree of life but I also don't completely understand it.

Personally I like having to not worry about factions, happiness, or my environment. I'd prefer to avoid making claims and just go ham taking over systems. I don't like mixing my planets with other races and prefer to min/max.

[yuzhonglu]

Except for the necro dragon strat, both Hive and Machine Intelligence (other than Rogue Servitor) are weaker than normal factions. The problem is that with the unity rework, Hive generates less unity than normal factions thanks to normal factions getting politicians and Machines other than Servitors always have unity generation issues.

The trick is to play a normal faction like Clones, but add in like 8 purifiers to the galaxy. That way you can go ham without playing a Total War empire yourself.