[bogomipz]

Could you or someone else say what are the better options in terms of hardware for this setup? Pinephone?

[dmm]

The Google Pixel phones are the easiest to run alternative Android roms on because Google provides the sources and allow you to unlock the bootloader.

They also pay Qualcomm more so you can re-lock the bootloader.

The Pinephone is great but it's most appropriate for developers interested in linux phones at this time.