I'm one of those who cannot leave it alone until I have a definitive answer, which doesn't seem possible with Microsoft.
With regard to
Pause Updates, the only conclusion I can come to is that there is no definitive answer.
The following is from my Windows 10 Production System.
Attachment 217444
Note the statement under Pause Updates: Temporarily pause updates from being installed on this device for up to 35 days. When updates resume, the device will need to get the latest updates before it can be paused again.
I would think 35 days is a far cry from "several months" I've seen in multiple statements.
Secondly, I'm told I can only pause feature updates for 23 days and quality updates for 16 days.
I will
edit this when I get over to my Windows Insider System . . . And now we continue . . .
Attachment 217450
Note the statement under Pause Updates: Temporarily pause updates from being installed on this device for up to 7 days. When updates resume, the device will need to get the latest updates before it can be paused again.
So, in the end there seems to be less wiggle room with the Insider Builds than with the Production Build(s) as far as pausing updates.
Yep, I said, "seems to be", but maybe not . . .
Note the statement under Update Options: Keep this off to help prevent extra charges so updates won't download while you're on a metered Internet connection.
Hmmmmmmm, does this say what I think it says? Tell Microsoft your Internet Connection is metered and you can pause updates without pausing updates?
Attachment 217452
And now, here it is from my Production System:
Attachment 217453
So, now that I've spent all this time trying to make sense of Microsoft's "Deferral" system, I find that a simple change to my Internet connection from wide open to metered should allow me to choose when I update.
OK, I have some partial answers, and maybe a little help to those wanting to be able to stop updates for awhile.