Graphene is just taking control of my phone from Google and giving it to whoever runs Graphene. I don't get any say in how my phone works.
Graphene thinks you can't be trusted with your own device. But don't worry, they definitely know what's best for you and it's a totally different kind of control from what Google has. Really, just trust them, it's totally fine, promise.
I switched to Lineage after a few months.
What specific ways do you feel are "more locked down" than stock? It's not recommended, but you can install magisk + root if you really wanted to. It won't try to prevent you.
>Graphene is just taking control of my phone from Google and giving it to whoever runs Graphene. I don't get any say in how my phone works.
That's fine. The homepage of grapheneos says:
"The private and secure mobile operating system with Android app compatibility"
Surely you must understand that "security" and "giving users a say in how their phone works" are diametrically opposed? A phone can't be secure if its sandbox can be bypassed in one tap by the user. You might have a lot of say in how your linux system works, but don't kid yourself into thinking it's secure. It's only one `bash -c "$(curl -fsSL http://...` from getting pwned.