Do sites without legal pages rank? And should you no-index these pages?

1. I had the legal pages (Privacy policy and Terms) in the footer but I forgot to make them clickable and mink them to said pages. I realized it when I got rejected by Adsense.

Was that what was keeping my blog from ranking? Does Google really dislike sites without legal pages?

2. Do you no-index those pages if you copied them word for word from another site, or what's the best move if they're too generic?

3. Are all the pages that's needed for Adsense and Ezoic approval Privacy Policy and Terms? Anything else? And About Us is optional is mandatory?

I've never created any such pages to get AdSense approval. I don't know if the approval is process is automatic or manual, but if the site and content looks legit, it will be approved for sure.

You can rank without them no problem.

For approval, you should have them yes. I don't think About page is mandatory.