After spending too much time on it now, the Google Photos API Limitations (only compressed files via the API, EXIF Data not complete) are what really rubs me the wrong way. I've turned on Takeout Backup Creation every 2 months now and expect to just flatout pump these files into Glacier, while retaining a local copy of the latest version on a NAS here, but this is really a sad state of affairs.

Is iCloud better for this?

As Google Photos is my main usecase for being stuck in the Google Ecosystem, is this situation better with the iCloud?