I feel your inconvenience tonvh. Safari, though for me, is still the memory hog it's always been and with a 2014 Mac Mini with Apple's forced RAM (non user upgradeable) I find myself relying on Firefox for less RAM usage and much more control than either Safari and Opera.
Apparently, with the near demise of Opera they've gotten help and it's come in the forms of less control for desktop users and less control over privacy. Choose your poison, like politicians.