I'd really like to get into this thing but im pretty intimidated by it
It is an incredible machine, super flexible and with infinite capabilities. That might seem very complex indeed. Don't let it overwhelm you and start small and go step by step to explore it. It is in the best sense a learning journey. Take your time - it is worth it!
Does anyone just keep theirs fairly minimal?
I do, and actually I do not care about how much profiles I really do have in the KPA. I clean it up fairly often and only leave a handful in there to be used in "crisis situation" if other things would fail. Never needed that though.
My real stuff is organized in the Performances for the work with bands in rehearsal and on stage. In the studio situation I always have the Rig Manager connected and load profiles from there as needed. And though you can get lost in an incredible amount of profiles with countless options I do very often use the machine with just one profile, more or less as a one channel amp with only few variations of effects. In my rock band I can easily survive a long evening with one Performance which has one profile with a few effects options and still get great feedback from the bandmates on how good the sound is
Still it is super much fun to explore different profiles... play around and get a feel for different types before you narrow it down again to what you stick to...