Obligatory I play exclusively on linux.
In the absence of a gamersnexus video or phoronix article, I'm going to take this with a large grain of salt. Especially when a video like this one is showing much higher performance in windows. The different cpu shouldn't account for much of a difference when playing at higher resolutions and the benchmarks shows the game being gpu limited.
There are too many variables that go into battery usage to get any meaningful insight. Different apps, cpus, screen brightness/refresh rates, active radios, etc... It's an endless list. Best you can do is compare with someone you know with the same model who has similar usage patterns. Good luck.
If you're going to store something on someone else's computer (Google cloud), they have every right to control what is and is not allowed on their systems. Don't like it? Use encryption, selfhost, etc...
I know these guys are too busy to do it but I would gladly pay a monthly fee for a podcast with Steve (GN), Steve (HUB), Wendell (L1) and Gordon (PCWorld).
The network effects are hard to overcome for a majority of people and they shouldn't be punished for it. I think most of the people in charge of large fediverse instances are hyper aware of the embrace-extend-extinguish mindset and will be wary buying into corporate versions of the fediverse. Personally, I'll remain skeptical but I won't advocate for defederating or any punitive actions without cause.
Wouldn't getting something like a Kobo and syncing with Calibre be a much easier/cheaper option?