> - I have access to the play store for apps, not some proprietary tv manufacturer subset of poorly developed apps. That means I can install the retroarch/plex/etc android apps directly from play.

> - It has built in google assistant which I use every day to play music and yt videos (as well as controlling other stuff in my all-google house.

You're not getting it. The whole point is to avoid constant tracking. If you have Google services, you're being tracked.