ᐅ Vinyl Flooring over Tiles: Surface Preparation

Hello everyone,
I would like to install vinyl flooring over my extremely unattractive, uneven tiles. I was told that the tiles need to be sanded down, skim-coated, filled, and treated in other ways before the vinyl flooring can be glued down. That sounds reasonable, but after seeing the price for all that work, I needed to sit down for a moment.
My question is – is all of that really necessary, or are there other options to reduce the amount of work involved?
I’m happy to pay for quality work, but not more than it’s actually worth.

It might be less effort to remove the tiles yourself and then level the floor using a self-leveling compound.

That is about 70m² (750 sq ft). I am fit and strong, but that might be a bit too much. Plus, I’m worried about what I might find under the tiles.
I have had two people say the tiles need to be sanded first, and one who says that isn’t necessary. It’s hard to know who to trust anymore.

You will see every unevenness under this vinyl... everything will show through because it is very thin. The pattern of the joints will probably not look very attractive.
Therefore, everything should be smoothed out.

Yes, I understand that. I'm just wondering whether the tiles *have to* be sanded down, or if it’s enough to just fill the grout lines and level the floor.
Right now, I’m considering whether it might actually be cheaper to remove the tiles. Is that even doable for someone who has never done it before, or will I end up completely damaging the screed? Everyone has a different opinion.
Thanks for your responses, by the way!

You will also notice your uneven tile surface... it doesn't look good!

Of course, you can remove them (my ex-husband did that in the entire bathroom back then).
However, you will need leveling compound afterward, which is not an easy task for an area of 70m² (750 sq ft).