Arch has been the least limiting experience I have had with Linux thus far.
You wanna delete system files, do it, I dare you. Oh, it broke your system? Okay, not a problem. I haven’t encountered a situation it wasn’t recoverable. You wanna test bleeding edge custom kernels with drivers that are the newest available? Done.
If you’re afraid of reading, troubleshooting, and trying new things to test your mettle? Yeah, go with something else.
There is very little I haven’t been able to do with my Arch setups. I ditched Windows, and can’t go back.
I have used GrapheneOS on and off for 3 years or so.
I used to be on LineageOS with root. I did that so I could run a firewall, and have complete control over every aspect of my OS.
I tried GrapheneOS before they had ability for android auto. But lacking that, caused me to switch.
While my ultimate goal is to ditch big tech, Google, Microsoft, apple, etc I have to compromise a bit for some functionality.
That being said, having sandboxed Google Play has helped. Something I didn’t have on LineageOS.
Getting data to and from Debian won’t be an issue. Plug it in, and copy files to and from. Ezpz.
I use Arch BTW. And have had zero issues. So Linux compatability isn’t an issue.
As far as getting a Pixel with a headphone jack, that May be an issue. Security updates and software updates for a model with one may be an issue.
I have had GrapheneOS on a Pixel 7 Pro, and now an 8 Pro.
As much as I hate Google, I do like pixels. The 7 pro was miles better than my 8 pro.
I want to add, without Google play, you can still use Accrescent and Obtainium. While Accrescent is good, it has few apps. Obtanium you can pull from GitHub, F-Droid, Gitlab, and more and will check for updates.
I use both.