I have been an Android user for 13 years now. After using almost every Google service possible I am going down the privacy rabbit hole lately. Gmail -> Proton Mail, Chrome -> Firefox, Keep -> Notesnook, Google Search -> Kagi, …
I am currently using a Galaxy S23 with as few Google apps as possible (and focussing mainly on open-source apps). I am familiar with rooting (I was a CyanogenMod user back in the days), but today I want to use the phone without tinkering and problem solving. I also like to use a smartwatch and banking apps, so GrapheneOS is a no-go unfortunately.
So it is “Stock” Android (or Samsung’s Android ) vs. iOS for me. Is it better (in terms of privacy) to use an iPhone or stick with an Android phone with an system wide ad-/tracking Blocker (I use Adguard)? It seems there are more privacy-friendly/open-source apps on Android.
To your point about tinkering, GrapheneOS has an excellent web installer. CalyxOS has a fairly decent install procedure but is maybe slightly more involved.
If you want to make a move in favour of privacy you might want to ditch the smart watch you currently use if it’s a proprietary system that also leverages Google play services, as your health and biometric data is also very valuable to these companies.
Regarding root, I feel as if root access has been more or less phased out in custom ROMs today, likely for attestation purposes but I suppose also to prevent end users from causing irreparable system damage.