> For me, it works like this: on the Owner user, because that’s the name of the main account created automatically with the system, I installed the Google Play Store along with Google Play services and GmsCompatConfig
Many people here might recoil at this: to go through the trouble of de-Googling your phone and then just install Google Play services and the Play Store, but the important part is that it is a choice they could make.
Pixels are arguably the best option for software choice among mainstream phones (and iPhones are the worst), but both are a huge regression of choice compared to traditional personal computing platforms.
I've found using separate accounts for Non-Play (default) and Play (exception/escape hatch) to be a very happy medium.