Apple has always been greedy, in my opinion, but seldom evil.

They are the only major corporation that still makes an effort for privacy (though many people are understandably very skeptical) e.g.

• fully end-to-end-encrypting most of your iCloud data,
• blocking tracking pixels in Mail (not technically correct, but good enough approximation)
• having iCloud Private Relay (something like Tor network) built into Safari
• blocking tracking of your behaviour by anonymising your device
• they even scramble data about your Maps trips, inserting wrong information before they send analytics back to themselves, through what is called differential privacy.

Other reasons I use iOS:

• They offer software updates for >6 years, so I really get great bang for my buck. Total cost of ownership is typically less than other flagship products.
• Integration with their other products.
• General polish, smoothness and ease of use.

I too rely on governments to rein in their greediness (e.g. Right to Repair, having multiple App Stores, etc.)