It appears that Prefect 2 does not necessarily require dealing with YAML files. Prefect 2 introduces new components and capabilities, such as more flexibility for flow deployments, native async support, and out-of-the-box Pydantic validation. It also provides Blocks for securely storing UI-editable, type-checked configuration to external systems and an easy-to-use Key-Value Store. All these components are configurable in one place and provided as part of the open-source Prefect 2 product
source.
So, fear not, human, you won't be drowning in YAML files with Prefect 2.