Installation method - Debian Standard / Debian GTK
Single-boot
I can see that the KDE edition includes many MATE applications which are either not needed in KDE or has equivalent KDE counterparts. If the argument is that the MATE applications are better than the KDE applications or provide better workflow, the argument is diluted because there is not much difference between MATE calculator and Kcalc, Caja and Dolphin, Meld and Kdiff3. A simple search in package manager for installed packaged with MATE in name of package shows the list. I am not a KDE fanboy and don’t mean KDE is better than MATE. Just wanted to have minimum (not zero) intermingling of applications from different DE.
Also, since Kmail and Kontact is not used, we don’t need Akonadi.
Parrot is a fine product, but little bit of fine tuning is required on the KDE edition.
A while back there was an update, that installed the Parrot-Mate DE on my KDE install, obviously this included MATE applications, so I have both now, KDE&MATE. Probably why your seeing all the MATE applications, it wasn’t always like this.
Don’t know why MATE was included in the KDE update, but doesn’t really both me, I’ve run both DEs before, and in the past there have been some bad KDE bugs, and so I just logged into MATE until they were resolved or I felt like trying to fix them myself.