The way it used to work:
Start at the top level folder, Macintosh HD or whatever you've named it.
Set things the way you want, then click Use as Defaults.
That, in the past, has changed all the enclosed folders as long as the user has not made customized changes. Clicking on Defaults will not override manual changes that you've made.
I don't know if this still holds true. Also, I don't know if doing a Clean Install of the OS will get you back to a state where all folders can be changed with this one action. That would be a drastic step.
It might seem that it will take you forever to change all individual folders, but it won't. You will live long enough to get them all changed if you only do the enclosed folders of one folder per day.
