Buy an unlocked bootloader phone (ie oneplus) and put lineage os on it. Lineage doesn't come with any of the google apps or the play store, just a few basic apps and the ability to put whatever else you want on it.
Useful if you want play services and store function without Google. But I know it has it's own security concerns so not clearly "better" overall.
Have you ever tried compiling android? It’s not fun.