I used to think fudging Vs not fudging was a stylistic decision, but as I’ve played more I feel it’s a system issue. If you feel a need to fudge rolls, either to raise or lower the stakes, to force desired plot points or avoid unnarrative deaths, or to fix broken challenge ratings, you’re probably using the wrong system for you and your group.
Think about what issues you’re actually trying to avoid by fudging, and then look for systems that are structured to avoid those issues. If the rolls get in the way of your narrative, switch to a more narrative system. If you’re fighting against the system to build satisfying combat encounters, switch to something more tactical.

It’ll always take a couple of sessions to get used to a new system, but learning one is always a lot faster than continuing to waste time trying to force a system to do things it wasn’t made for.