related to browser assist: noticed the same issue as you, even if I keep my var files mass number a lot more limited. Proceeding to use a "search [var] by creator name" is my practical solution and it works a lot better, without issues, specially with the standard/native vam resource browser (scenes, appearances, plugins etc.).
My opinion: I suppose there is a technical problem in the otherwise very useful plugin by JayJay ... limiting the max listing number and vars image preview. This is not a sad big issue and it doesn't absolutely obscurate the immense utility of his plugin (like for instance the "import from" option, sounds import, etc.).
In conclusion: my entire vam install folder (in a dedicated nvme disk partition) is actually only 108MB (85,7GB for 2200 files in the AddonsPackage), I use for technical motivations a different folder and partition for the vam cache. This install size is even too much big for my actual playing needs, even if I delete always those .var that I consider not worth using.
1.25 TB vars folder (!!) is absolutely not optimal (and how much heavy is/was becoming your vam cache???), not only for any scene loading time, for the program performance and (really necessary?) disk space wasting.
A good action if you have enough hd space, should be to create another (?) clean vam install with just the indispensable, a minimal "dose" of var files, scenes, plugins etc., just what you need for those original and custom edited scenes you like to play with.
