it’s just an opinion, I can’t know - but I don’t think there’s any discrimination as to the device info that is returned to Google, successful authentication is the only relevant criteria.
I think the issue with the device spoofing is the confusion itself it can cause, when users enable 2-step verification and wonder which device it is.
As to Google Photos, external drive + “Google Takeout” once to get them in one go? hedging risk. Loosing 5 years of photos in 5 years better than loosing a lifetime of photos.