I won't speak to the specifics--follow medical advice. But, generally: don't mess around with knee issues and don't ignore them. Your knee sounds pretty crudded up already, which indicates to me you've got other problems to address.

Figure out what you did to screw up your knee so bad in the first place. If you elect for the surgery, remind yourself that there is plenty of exercise you can do that needn't use your legs while you recover (though I find most of them boring and it sounds like you might as well 😉).

Take care of yourself, not just the issue.

My knee pain was caused by two issues- tight IT band and heel striking while running. The pain sounds different than yours, was very evident on stairs. To fix this I did 2 things : switched to barefoot style running about 12 years ago - zero drop shoes, wide toe box, mid foot strike, shorter stride, and added IT band stretching to my post run stretch routine. I have no knee issues now.

I haven't had the exact problem you're describing but I have torn my meniscus playing soccer, which leads to similar problems. I would strongly recommend against taking shortcuts during treatment. I found it to be a recurring problem when I was initially trying to get back to playing and to be honest I can still have little lock-ups even today (three years later) if I am not careful. A professional soccer player at my local club was out for fourteen months with a recurring meniscus injury - he re-tore it twice just straight line running during his recovery and ended up needing three surgeries in total. Knee cartilage injuries shouldn't be underestimated just because they're not the dreaded ACL tear. Often the long-term recovery can be more complicated than a ligament tear.

I recommend taking the recovery slow and easy and working with a physio to build strength around the knee and hips (hip strength will improve your stability and reduce load on the knee). You will lose muscle mass during the recovery period, leaving the knee exposed to re-injury. Personally I chose to give up on returning to soccer due to the potential risk involved and transitioned into long-distance running instead, but it sounds like you're not doing anything that extreme so hopefully you won't experience any long-term restrictions following surgery and rehab.

I highly recommend a physiotherapist if you haven't already.

I had an issue years ago where my doctor couldn't figure out my knee pain/clicking but physio got it. He taught me how to correct for my extremely tight IT band that was pulling everything out of alignment and causing damage. Fortunately that meant a foam roller and stretching rather than surgery.