l mostly agree and i don't really ever fudge, but i don't really like instant death, as it's mostly just luck. If they die from poor choices or failed death rolls i don't mind, but like, i've had players at full healh "die" because the monster rolled a crit and the highest number on both damage rolls. I ended up just downing him and giving him a cool scar after he got up cause that's bonkers and it was literally the first fight of the campaign, lol.

I might make changes to the number of monsters or their stats, but that's always something i do before the fight, never during it. Homebrewing is alot different than fudging imo. Once the players have seen it, it's set in stone.