ignoring everything else, I would just say get the most expensive S series phone that is the right “size” for your hands, and your budget. Any S series phone will do, just don’t touch the budget phones or the FE phones. S24, S23, S22. All are fine phones. No need to bet. You’ll get the same Samsung experience as the S8, just better and faster.
Repeat, do not touch the budget phones, do not touch the FE phones, and you will be fine.
My Samsung phones can get a broken phone screen fixed within 4 hours in my country, and Samsung even provides a replacement phone in the mean time. Pixel takes a couple of weeks with no replacement phones provided.
Nvm that with Pixels phones you can’t turn off any of tracking because it’s built into all parts of the phone. Or the battery is just piss poor. Or the screen is just lousy. Or that you will get blinded by the fingerprint sensor if you try to unlock the phone in the night because it’ll light up being optical.