You aren't a product? Then pay for the products you use instead of asking to get it for free. If they don't give you the option to turn telemetry off in the paid product, then go ahead and complain. But pay for what you get.
They don't get to subtly mine value out of their users just because they released free stuff. That's nonsense. We're not obligated to be guinea pigs in their usability experiments.
If you don't want to give them your data, don't use their software. Nobody is forcing you to use their software and give them your data.
It's a simple deal. Either pay using money, or pay using your data. If you don't want to pay with either, you don't get to use their software.
I get to do all sorts of things. For example, I get to completely firewall their software off of my network. That "take it or leave it" nonsense simply doesn't work on my computer.
Data is not a valid currency by which payments are made. Period.
Correct. No obligation to download and use the free version.