So this is what I came up with:
#!/bin/bash
if ps ax | grep -v grep | grep gnome-screensaver > /dev/null
then
echo "gnome-screensaver is not running"
echo "starting gnome-screensaver ..."
pkill -9 -f '/usr/bin/gjs /usr/share/gnome-shell/org.gnome.ScreenSaver'
sleep 3
gnome-screensaver
else
echo "gnome-screensaver already running"
exit
fi
Adding it to startup applications seems to be sufficient to get everything running the way it should.
Cheers for the help