Indeed, I think I' in the same boat... err... spaceship as you. I too worry that despite the overtures that Odyssey is not combat focussed, the on foot combat is still by far the biggest new content in the game. I'm not really a combat guy. I'll dabble in ship-ship PvE Bounty hunting from time to time - that's about it. I'm undecided about the Thargoids, but am giving them the benefit of the doubt (as it seems likely that Humans are the aggressors). I've never attacked a player or deliberately attacked a lawful NPC. My character (and that of my other main) are lawful good (the only slight exceptions are the dodgy engineer unlocks that I've had to do in the least possible illegal manner to ge tpas the artificial gating).
I'm aware of the new planet tech tech and exobiology content. The planet tech looks great - I'm really looking forward to that. I'm not sure how much scanning lifeforms will interest me in the long term. That we will have to see. In Odyssey Alpha, I've purchased a secondary weapon, but have not fired either my side arm or rifle yet. It does not interest me. I'm also seeing experienced FPS-ers on streams bouncing around rooftops like kangaroos. I hate that. Even if the jumps could be made, would it really be so much a thing whilst wearing a spacesuit that must not be ripped?
As such, I'm not sure what actual gameplay Odyssey will bring to me that I will want to do much of. Accepting a mission to reactivate a site, Powering it up, then looting all of the lockers (to get the mats for upgrades) seems.... Wrong....... (remember the lawful good thing).... To me it's different from scooping mats from long abandoned sites such as Dav's hope that has been disowned.
That said I have the Alpha access on Terekhov's account and have the basic Odyssey for my other main, and I'm not disappointed with making those pre-orders. The amount of gameplay I've got from my EDH purchases has been phenomenal, and I'm happy to buy into the ongoing development of the game. I can see the massive amount of work that has gone into Odyssey.
That said. I feeling at the moment that I'll probably continue spending most of my time in my ship with brief on foot forays are POIs or while exploring.
(note I'm extremly technical and am not distarcted by things like the travel times or limited content in phase 1 of Alpha - I agree with the approach the devs have taken there)