Overall if you are using a cellphone at all, and imo especially though Verizon network, you should forget about privacy. As for being connected to the internet, especially if you already have a Google account (but not necessarily), privacy out the window too, unless you use VPN and preventing all servers from logging your activity, that's not easy to do. I know this isn't what you meant in your discussion, but you did not specify either, I still consider it a major aspect of privacy.
I don't think it matter which popular mobile OS you use, they all collect data in some form, or the apps you use. Google make money from ads and they do it by collecting your data, most of the time anonymously, if you use their mobile OS or services you'll just have to accept that fact. The answer to these simply is to not use the services.
For the most part, you don't really have control over Google taking photo of your house with their driverless car, map it on their map, collecting WiFi info, aggregating your info that is already present from other public sources and make it searchable on their search service. You already mentioned google.com/dashboard, Google let you control what info are saved and shared.
I guess you can protect yourself from virus and prevent certain apps from accessing certain data on your phone, mostly this is the only level where users have real control over. Mostly it come down to common sense and careful of what you're downloading and signing up to. Read the permissions of apps add read the developer explanation of it before downloading. Even then Google removed that in KitKat 4.4.2 by making App Ops inaccessible unless you have root. In term of virus and malware, Android is pretty secure and the PlayStore scan apps installed for them. My only concern is controlling permissions of apps, you can't really do much without root, I would argue that even Black Berry and iOS let users control permissions more than Android right now (without root). But a recent incident of a flashlight app that have mulltimillions of downloads collecting user location without their permission and settling with the FTC shows that users don't have that much control in Android as they think, if even apps with millions of download invade your privacy without you knowing (sure you say check the permissions, but it's hard for an average Joe to do that when it have 5stars and millions of download, by that standard the public will have a hard time). Atleast in iOS you can disallow location per apps. I think Google have some improvements to make. For an Android fan I think it's a little embarrassing.
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