The bugs can be caused by improperly installed uodates (e.g apt upgrade on Ubuntu) or poorly tested package (e.g Arch)

Use a Ubuntu or Fedora based distro and only use the GUI upgrader which is designed to avoid breakage.

You can get a Pixel on credit from the Google store website and those models are unlocked.

You should try GrapheneOS. It has none of that bullshit, and you don’t need to pay $100 per month if you use a cheaper sub brand like Visible or Mint instead of main Verizon/T-Mobile.

You can keep your number when switching networks.