AOL Mail and Apple Mail App

Several years ago, Verizon got out of the email business and handed things over to AOL, although we retained our @verizon.net addresses. I have been accessing these emails using the Apple Mail app on my MB Pro. I am getting emails purportedly from AOL saying "To help protect the security of your account, starting on June 1, 2021, AOL will stop allowing connections from some third-party apps and programs unless you take action." So first I want to know:

o Is anyone else is getting these emails?

If legit, there are three options provided. I am only interested in options 2 and 3, shown below, as option 1 is for iOS. In reading up on option 3, it appears that if you have established 2-factor authentication (2FA) for AOL mail, then you go to AOL to generate a new password to use in Mail to connect to AOL. I assume this is in addition to the usual AOL Mail password you would use for directly accessing AOL mail on the web.

Some questions:

o If I do option 2, will I lose all of the emails in my Mail folders for this account? If so, is there an easy way to save and restore them?
o Re. option 3, I haven't established 2FA with AOL Mail at this time, although I probably should. But I'm not sure I understand this "new password" concept as then Apple Mail would be accessing my emails without 2FA.
o Which option do you recommend?

Option 2. Remove your AOL account from your third-party app or program, then add it again. This will update the app or program's connection to your AOL account to meet our security requirements. Make sure you know your AOL password before removing and re-adding your account.

Option 3. Generate a unique app password that gives your third-party app or program permission to log in to your AOL account, then update your app or program settings to use this password.