...I have no desire to pay $300 up front, plus $50/mth for the privilege of using a crappy phone plastered with Google Ads.
May I suggest using your phone as ..uh..phone then. You actually don't see adverts whiole your talking on the phone. And yes, I understand you want to surf while sitting on a busstop... but don't bark about something that you're clearly choosing to do!
Actually, I just want a phone, which is becoming more and more challenging. You don't see (or hear) adverts while on the phone now, but Google is like the 800 lb gorilla that everybody sees in the corner, but is wearing a tutu and appears harmless.