Optimal version of macOS?

Question

macOS

Macbook pro 13, 2012 mid
Intel i5 2.5 GHz 2-core
RAM 16 GB
SSD

Please tell
me what is the optimal version of mac os to suit this old man, without underestimating performance

Upd
At the moment, Catalina 10.15.3 is worth it, but on the HDD. So I started switching to an SSD and the idea came up that it might be worth putting a lower version if it is faster on the assumption that new OSes eat more resources since they are designed for more modern hardware. Plus, there were patch holes that reduced performance.

On the PC, vm var with windows is used, which eats away some of the resources.

Perhaps such troubles are a waste of time, but the question is precisely what may have a nuance with the optimal version of the OS, and not the last one that will become

Answer 1

The freshest one that can stand on it.
Catalina, they write , you can.