fireberd
I must be lucky, I don't see any of the general Windows 10 problems others see.  I use the built in Windows Defender and a paid version of Malwarebytes.  Neither affects my PC operations or DAW operations.

That's probably down to your hardware being powerful enough. Regardless if it was my system I would still want to optimize the performance (this helps Sonar run faster and more smoothly) by doing these tweaks, but each to their own.

For best performance, if you can dedicate your PC for DAW use, unplug from the internet and don't run any real-time AV stuff.
 
If your PC is behind a router you can plug into the net as needed for software updates and activations.  The router provides a hardware firewall if NAT is enabled, so nothing unsolicited can attack your PC directly.
 
Your trusted applications should just connect to their home servers, so nothing unexpected should arrive from those domains.
 
Just don't open any browsers or download any other executable files. Use a 2nd device for that stuff.  Periodically update an AV, then run on-demand scans only to verify your files are clean.  That way you can disable all real-time AV file scanning.

"Your trusted applications should just connect to their home servers, so nothing unexpected should arrive from those domains."

^
This is an assumption, will happen most of the time, will hopefully happen all of the time.

Do not disable your antivirus or firewall when connected to the internet. Any data your receive (ie project files via USB sticks) need to be virus scanned as well. If you are updating software it's best to run windows update (so software dependencies are kept up to date) and keep your virus scanner up to date.

If you are going entirely offline then don't install any patches or software ever, otherwise there is no point to it. If you are connected to the internet even periodically and briefly obviously you need protection. Similar when installing software or receiving data such as files from people.

IMHO easier to just disable your network adapter when you record if you just have performance issues and optimize your system, and configure Windows update for business, there should be no issue and everything should work absolutely fine.

Oh and have a backup strategy.

Follow CakeAlex, I have done this with the desktop, never a prob.  The laptop is a slug though, relatively, due to av and updating always on.  Always have 2 backups plus the originals, great advice.