Haha, I get the whole "tinfoil hat" topic. Often comes up when I bang the drum of privacy. You setup @tkc@feddit.uk is definately where I want to be and making moves to get there. I have my laptop on Arch but my desktop is still very much Windows. I do check outbound traffic with each update and telemetery is not a huge issue though I imagine something is getting through.
Good to see you are both using PiHole too. I have not gone through the process of setting that up yet but it is on my list of things to do. I am sure I will be surprised with how much is leaking out from the many other devices connected to my network. Still, having kids at home, makes it a little more difficult to just go hardcore blackout (turns out blocking Facebook domains on the home networks is frowned on by the family).
A great setup. I have considered getting a Pixel for the exact reason of GrapheneOS. I am still stuck in convenience at the moment hence why I have stock Android and use Windows. That said, I do have many other things in place with VPNs, anti-telemetry, etc.
Cheers for sharing the link to Privacy Guides, I have followed them for a while now. I had already added a link to the sidebar and would be more than happy to add any other useful links.