Pixels can also be re-locked with a custom ROM present (I think Graphene is the only one that does this, though). For that reason alone I'll be transitioning back to Pixel (once this phone is beyond help).
Up until your comma the comment suited me just fine, but then... let's not get personal about developers' health issues. It isn't helpful, and there has already been an HN discussion on the topic that you've unfortunately exhumed. There has been great progress at solving problems that had come up during a sad time for GrapheneOS and CalyxOS.
I understand that position, but one can also not simply ignore the situation. It'd be okay if the project had removed the maintainer, but they did not, instead he just sabotaged the Mozilla location service discussion while purporting to speak in the name of the Graphene foundation. There is a responsibility to warn users about that risk factor.
CalyxOS has been working well for me and I recommend it. I appreciate how the included microG allows me to disable Firebase Cloud Messaging for any app that I don't need push notifications for. Having push notifications without Google Ads or Google Analytics is great.
In tech as in all of life, wellness of those in leadership can be ephemeral and is never to be taken for granted or assumed. I wish good health to all involved.