Our first time at the Vatican, before COVID, we did an expensive early morning Pristine Sistine tour. It was the tour where we decided to never take another tour again. Not a big group but four hours following someone around and hearing about what THEY thought was important. Last May, we went to the Vatican by ourselves. We arrived in the early afternoon and rented headsets from the Vatican. We went to different areas where tours don't go because we were avoiding the crowds. If we saw something interesting, we plugged the number in and listened to something we wanted to know about. We didn't listen to it continually because we could cover more ground that way. We should have brought our own headphones. The Sistine Chapel was just as crowded as it had been for our Pristine Sistine tour but we had more mobility. I think the "secret door" that tours can use as a shortcut between the Vatican Museum and St Peters is back in use. We walked around instead and went through security at the Basilica. Not a big deal.
We didn't miss being on a tour and felt like we got all the information we wanted. It was hot, humid, crowded and we were wearing masks. No time to dally. Prior to leaving home, I did listen to RS Vatican audio tour a few times when walking in my neighborhood. This gave me an idea of what to look for. Only you can decide if a tour is worthwhile to you. Personally, if I never follow someone with a flag again, I will be a happy woman but that's me. I hope you find what works for you.