Pixels can also be re-locked with a custom ROM present (I think Graphene is the only one that does this, though). For that reason alone I'll be transitioning back to Pixel (once this phone is beyond help).
In tech as in all of life, wellness of those in leadership can be ephemeral and is never to be taken for granted or assumed. I wish good health to all involved.
But let's indeed let it be here, it gets OT for the ASUS topic. The GrapheneOS warning just had to be mentioned as it was related to the bootloader re-locking.