I don't care if anyone has a Xiaomi, Oneplus, Samsung, etc. Each brand is using a modified version of Android, and they chose to be compatible with each other. But for example the "blue vs green bubble" drama is a thing specifically because of Apple locking their unsuspecting users into a closed ecosystem. And it sure isn't Android's fault for not being compatible with it.
The more power a company like this gains, the worse will it be for the whole industry.
As an Android user, Android phones with Google Play Services are no better - in fact I'd say they're probably worse
No at least you can side loade and install other app stores out of the box with android. It`s far from perfect but still way better.
FDroid for open source apps.