In the performance comparisons gsmarena lists, it seems like the downgrade would actually be noticeable, though :/

I just pay for Google Photos and forget about it, it’s the easiest way and worth my money. Most apps are backed up in a server anyway.

Last time I checked there were some modules you could install with Magisk that theoretically prevented these issues. Have you looked into it? That’s the only thing that keeps me away from trying out a custom ROM, unfortunately :/