Joint compound is far more forgiving than Bondo, and it's not difficult.

YouTube videos on drywall work: https://www.youtube.com/@vancouvercarpenter

What sort of mess are you making?

Your house is settling. Do you think some spackle will stop that?

One way that I repair cracks like over doorways. V-notch, treat the raw drywall with Zinnser's Gardz, fill crack with hot mud or underfill with with a quality elastomeric caulk like Big Stretch or, my preferred brand, Top Gun. Then using light weight non woven interfacing (the sew in kind not the fusible), cut large enough to cover are with good margins. Spray Super 77 on the area and glue the interfacing in place. Let dry/ outgas for a day or two. The lightly mud over the repair, feathering the edges.

The last two repairs that I made, both cracks at door headers, I used Abatron's Krack Kote. Repairs made over a year ago, maybe two years...holding up great.