i want to sync desktops but nothing else

i have a number of macs (2 mba, 1 mbp, 1 imac; all silicon) and i want them to sync their desktops. it seems (?) that if i enable desktop sync, i have to also enable general iCloud syncing. i can tolerate the Documents folder syncing if there is no way around it, but i absolutely do not want the entirety of my \~1TB iCloud drive syncing to my local machines. im fine for them to not be accessible at all, but at most i would want an "on demand" option like i have with onedrive. can i achieve this by toggling off that last option? or will that tell apple to not optimize (ie, try and store everything locally without regards to space)? https://preview.redd.it/ndfxyl2b92be1.png?width=898&format=png&auto=webp&s=3a7916985413b51d8ce1593e88f29536113b676a