Google stands to lose a lot more from a potential PR disaster for burning former customers who move away from hosting than they do from trying to convert a tiny portion of users to a free mail hosting service.
If you dont want to receive spam use lafn.org. I dont know how one gets an account there but I expect it doesnt cost anything.
If you want a full VPS use http://prgmr.com/ - "we dont assume you are stupid.". Its a hosting service operated by neckbeards for the benefit of their fellow neckbeards.
Quite cheap, I get mine for free because I help them with their marketing.
Whenever they solicit me I respond immediately with links to my own SEO articles. Of course the very best SEO is for ones own website to go viral at an SEO board.
One enterprising young South Asian was obviously a clueless newbie so I gave my reply a great deal of care. A few hours later he responded with:
"You are my SEO master."
I dontbreally offer SEO consulting but to claim that I do results in lots of Google Juice.
I have devoted years to beating a clue about marketing through his pointy skull but then he complains that he has to take contract comouter janitor work to pay his data center.
I expect he shops at that dame Safeway.
The way he needs to market was established in the 1960s by the stanford alumni association but Luke refuses to Read The Fine Manual.
He knows all about Open Source though.