The best or most reasonable phone to purchase is the Verizon Galaxy S7. They are carrier unlocked from the box and have a CDMA as well as GSM feature. So, if you decide to use the phone with any service after you aren't restricted.
The only way I have figured out how to deal with it is I went to my application manager, found the "google app" and selected turn off. But I never used it anyways! But it works!