Not giving Google a few hundred dollars (or if you buy a used phone, $0) isn't going to hurt them.

Google privacy is 0%, security is high 90s%

There is no security in google products except for google. They are all remote code execution platforms.

Without Google Play Services, this is blatantly untrue.

Evidence otherwise appreciated, even if just a compelling theory...

Not giving money to Google if you buy used.

Also, not weird in the context of Google actively maintaining their position as a a top security firm these days, with Project Zero.

Project Zero is their Politburo. It only serves to make people believe that google is not evil.

It serves to make people confident that they're giving up their privacy and at least getting security back in return.

Which is what the general public wants.

For everyone else, there's Graphene.