First of all, Google is responsible for poor updating of devices. Don't blame anyone else for the fact that their OS is hard to update, and Google doesn't require even basic security fixes as a requirement of getting the Play Store. (If you're unaware of what the MADA is: Google actually gets to approve or veto every device and software update released for devices running Android, effectively, and uses it to make demands about installed apps and branding.)

Second, the OS, designed for openness, would have open protocols for apps to build on that could be backed by anyone's servers. For instance, you can add multiple location providers to Android, there's no excuse for telling developers to build a dependency specifically on "Google Location Services". An open platform would have the location provider in the open source OS, and then apps would pull from whatever location services happened to be on the device in question, whether that be Google's servers, Samsung's servers, or someone else's.

The reality is that Play Services was designed for one purpose, and one purpose only: To create a proprietary fork of the Android application platform that would only run on devices Google controls via their secretive contracts with manufacturers.