But if you check the source you’ll notice that they don’t add any code themselves, they simply take Chromium and apply patches from Vanadium (Helium is commented for now) and build an apk.

Quote from the README from the repository it sources the Vanadium patches from:

It depends on hardening and compatibility fixes in GrapheneOS rather than reinventing the wheel inside Vanadium. For example, GrapheneOS already provides a hardened malloc implementation so there’s no need for Vanadium to replace it. Similarly, it can deploy security features causing breakage on other operating systems due to the ability to fix compatibility problems in the OS.

However, there may be other people like me out there who think it’s a good value proposition.

I’m sorry, but it’s an objectively bad recommendation. Vanadium is currently held intentionally exclusive to GrapheneOS by its team because of the reasons quoted above. Taking Chromium, applying Vanadium patches and extension support, and having one stranger maintain it is not a viable option. Even when he doesn’t write code himself, regular updates are a must, and if he discontinues or can’t keep up with updates for one of many possible reasons, all the people who relied on it will experience a massive security decrease if they don’t migrate to another browser. Real examples would be: Mull, Mulch and Bromite.

It’s something fun to check out and play around with, but no one should use it as a daily driver unless they fully understand all the risks and can act accordingly.