Hmm, to my awareness, SERMs don't have the full suite of estrogen effects though, and, specifically, they don't act like estrogen on the brain, so mood will not be represented at all.

Also, the last few years, I heard that their risk profile increased (they're considered more dangerous) in their common use on cis women.

I would only consider SERMs to be something that people use when it's exactly what they want (see: feminine fat distribution, basically with reduced breast growth and mental effects). If someone is questioning, a few weeks of estrogen with the associated blood tests and a doctor to oversee (to make sure hormone levels don't fluctuate from anything unforseen) is probably the best trial, by my moderately educated guess.

But yeah, there's so many different parts to what a transition can be, and you don't even have to do all of them. You can just pick and choose. That's allowed. Just do what you like.