Recent testing revealed that Arch Linux, Pop!_OS, and even Nobara Linux, which is maintained by a single developer, all outstripped Windows for the performance crown on Windows-native games. The testing was run at the high-end of quality settings, and Valve's Proton was used to run Windows games on Linux.
Anticheat isn’t malware. Malware has adverse effects on your system.
AC uses some techniques that some forms of malware also use (but far from all)