sure, not that I disagree. iCloud pricing is a honeypot. But what is best for the OP? imo just getting into a local-lan (music) files habit irrespective of device and OS?
as to Q1: /e/OS wouldn’t have handled it better in its defaults without other apps and a configuration dance
Q2: Pixel 7, 7 Pro is projected for vendor firmware updates until Oct’27, Pixel 7a to May’28. After that it’s framework updates only. A lot of users continue to run their devices on framework updates (many more years) because the biggest threat to them remains fast traffic and a wrong diet, not sophisticated cyberthings.