@scotjess This isn't too many questions, although I'm not sure I can give you a definitive answer for all of them.
The year listed for a laptop model generally doesn't matter. The manufacturer may re-release a given model, or a website may fudge the details, to make the laptop look newer than it is. What you should pay attention to is the model of processor. That determines the chassis (along with screen size) as well as contributing to how much heat the laptop will produce. If you find a revew that describes a laptop with exactly the processor in the one you're considering, that's data you can trust.
However, keep in mind that you won't be maxing out the processor while playing Sims 4. So just because the fans are loud when both the CPU and GPU are at max capacity doesn't mean you'd see the same. What you want to look for is how the laptop performs under medium CPU load and high (but not max) GPU load, which is what Sims 4 would produce. Some laptops are tuned to send the fans into overdrive at the first sign of high temperatures; others let the components get hotter before ramping up fan speed. There are also tools, often provided by the laptop manufacturer itself, that might allow you to tune the fan speed or curve, so look for a more in-depth review that describes the options available to adjust the settings.
MSI laptops do tend to run louder than others, nothing dangerous but the kind of noise that would make anyone wear headphones. The Asys Zephyrus G14 used to be very quiet for a gaming laptop, and if that's changed, it's a shame.
I would also take the casual YouTube reviews with a grain of salt. Trashing a product gets more clicks, and anyone can post just about anything. The reviews to trust are those from serious sites that run rigorous tests and post the data. Even if you can't or don't want to sort through most of that data, you'll at least know that the conclusions are accurate to the extent of the reviewers' abilities.
When you ask if a 3050 will last, what do you mean? If you're asking whether it will keep up with Sims 4 and eventually run Sims 5, the answer is probably but we can't know for sure. The developers are certainly incentivized to make Sims 5 accessible to people with lower-end computers than any of the ones you're considering, and Sims 4 wasn't even as demanding as Sims 3 for the first few years. Beyond that, you'd probably be looking to buy a new computer again soon: a laptop can't really be expected to last longer than five years, even if many of them do. And five or six years from now, laptops as fast as these should be much cheaper, with the equivalent gaming laptops easily being two or three times as fast.
