Hmmm. My PC doesn't update automatically. It tells me when updates are available, divided between "essential" and "optional". I decide when to install, and what. I usually go with the essential and pick and choose from the optional.
Internet Explorer is still there, for those very rare occasions when I need it (the former company website, for ordering a new car). It's on version 9. I've declined updates, with no further ado from MS.
I also go into msconfig about once every three months, and clear out the tat that seems to accumulate in there. The worst offender seems to be Apple, who assume that since I'm stuck with iTunes for backup/update of the iThings, I also want that and all their other rubbish (Quicktime, iCloud Service Manager, and more) to be running all the time. I remove those, and they stay gone until the next iTunes software update, when they reappear. iTunes updates are also on "manual" and don't get taken up very often.