I have not any prior experience with installing custom ROMs, but after trying it out (and getting stuck, and googling and finding answers) I successfully did it. Below is my home screen if anybody is curious:
I use OpenBoard for my keyboard. Unfortunately I am still dependent on Play Store since some of the apps I need can only be found there. Sometimes it feels meaningless committing to this whole thing because I'm not perfectly private; then I think this is better than using a regular iPhone or Android phone.
So far I'm liking it. I am naturally inclined to feel hesitant about using this as my main phone and plugging in a SIM since it's custom, but I'm slowly making the transition.
Feel free to share any beginners advice or your own experience using GOS for the first time. Cheers!
If it's of any help, I (n=1) used one of my personal google accounts with Aurora Store for years because I had one paid app I needed. On my latest phone I now use anon accounts because I no longer need that one app. But for the years I was logged in, I was never banned or anything. What I did, when I needed to purchase the app, I did it on a separate google account to my usual one I use for youtube and gdrive (I know, bad, I don't really use gdrive anymore but I haven't migrated the files I already have on there accumulated for years, and every time I start using a private youtube frontend it never sticks and I forget about it quickly. sorry lol). So if I got banned I would only lose a purchase and not anything else.