What it is

Google package installer. Seems to replace com.android.packageinstaller on newer phones. It is strangely not needed on older devices (you can still install APKs without it by using the AOSP package installer) but since Android 9, it also handles permissions control and could bootloop your device if removed.

On Android 8.1, disabling the app also disabled the 'Permissions' settings within all the apps. Besides that, I couldn't install an '.apk' file download from outside the Play Store.

Source: https://source.android.com/docs/core/architecture/modular-system/permissioncontroller.

This package does not come off. It is part of the system core, and removing it leaves the device unusable or stuck in a boot loop. It is listed so you can recognise it, not so you can touch it.

This is not the directory. Here we say what a package is in general; what happens on your particular television is on your model's entry, and that one wins. The same package can be dead weight on one set and hold the home screen up on another.