Bootlace1170 I wonder if I shoot myself in the foot by doing this, and I may as well use pixel OS. thoughts?
First, I think it's important to point out that since most of us don't work at Google, we don't know what data, exactly, they collect and use. Or how they use the data that they collect. Or how/what "anonymized" data is used. So it's best to stick to facts, and not hypothesize about what they might do.
When I first started using GrapheneOS, I requested a copy of my data using Google Takeout. If you have the chance to do so, do that and compare the information Google has about your devices. GrapheneOS will appear as a different "device," or at least it did when I tried this out. I'd suggest comparing the two if you ever get the chance. It was kind of eye opening for me.
The biggest thing is what they have access to. On the stock OS they have access to pretty much everything. If you're not comfortable with them having access to almost everything, then I would say don't switch back to the stock OS. Doesn't mean they use the data, but I personally wouldn't be comfortable with anyone having access to my data even if they don't use it. On GrapheneOS, they have very limited access. It's like night and day.
So, overall, I personally don't see the point in switching to the stock OS just because of network and location permissions.