> removing Mail, Maps, Contacts, Pages, Photos, Calendar, Facetime, Reminders, AppleTV, Music, Keynote, and more and then removing the bloat widgets like News, Stocks, etc

All of the things in your list are just apps that can be removed with one click. My partner’s PC comes pre-installed with masses of hidden spyware. I know the kneejerk reaction is to bash Apple for everything - but the two are totally not comparable.