I would also recommend using something like AOSP with a very minimal GApps install. Or bake your own ROM if you really need fine control. I even had to build a modified TWRP recovery in order to fully support my latest device. Additionally, use a firewall and Xposed with XPrivacy to tightly reign in apps. However the reality is that this is no fun, and not something you can expect the average consumer to do. It is quite unfortunate and I have similar sentiments.