Several other plugins serve as telemetry even if not explicitly intended as such. Other extensions that have their own telemetry generally ignore the telemetry setting on the editor itself.
One such example:
Have you tried Webstorm? I am using VSCode for a company project because the team agreed that we all use the same tools. Privately I am using WebStorm, and I like it much, much better. It feels so much more integrated, and all those inspections, refactoring, diff features make it the best web development tool currently available IMO.
As a daily user of the editor, I'd be curious to hear more. To be honest, it's become an essential tool, and would be a challenge to replace. It's quite excellent.
I know it's funded by Microsoft, whose operating system I'd consider as a kind of spyware these days. But for VS Code, aside from the opt-in telemetry, and the fact that it's built on Chromium, funded by an advertising giant who thrives on invasion of privacy, is there evidence to justify calling it a "spyware"?
OK, I admit that whole question might be an answer to itself..