I use Google for the calendar, but make only occasional use of GMail.

I have this little game of seeing how much I can avoid handing over to Google.
So on my old phone, I only synchronized my calendar items with Google.
I avoided synching everything else, there was no need.

That was in the not-evil days: now it seems to be sync all or nothing.

Q: If I’m using a different mail client for non-Google email, will a sync with Google slurp up all my contacts anyway?

I’m not about to replace my OS, but just curious:
  Are there versions of Android that don’t feed the Beast?

Thanks,
Victor