Hey @jputting
I understand your frustration regarding the fact that a key feature your workflow needs is not functioning the way you believe it should, and I am indeed able to reproduce the behavior on my setup.
I also understand that Vlad has noted that this issue may have a simple fix in #8573 (the word should could also be carrying some heft in that post).
We all have our visions on what the Orion team should be focusing on, and while it is not something you necessarily wish to hear, this is a rather niche request as the vast majority of Orion users would be perfectly happy with there being search engine suggestions or history hits when typing their quick search query in the URL bar. It does not in any way complicate their workflow. An argument in favor of the privacy concern you have raised could be made but if you use a search engine that respects you privacy, it shouldn't be an issue that search suggestions are, for now, pulled from it even when using quick searches.
I'd like to thank you for supporting Orion, and for being passionate about improving the browser. I am sure this bug will eventually be addressed as it would indeed make sense to be able to use quick searches even with all autocomplete suggestions disabled. For now I have to ask you to remain patient and respectful, as the team is doing more than their best in bringing the absolute best browser for both macOS and iOS. We all have our own "if Orion had just this one feature I wouldn't have to use any other browsers", and one day we'll get there.
The team is hard at work even as I am typing this, and the next Orion desktop release is looking very exciting both with technical issues being fixed and new features being added — who knows whose "just this one thing" will be fixed or added next.