> its apps don't waste CPU time or memory while not active
The 20% of my battery used by Google Play Services, despite the fact that the only Google service I use on my phone is YouTube, disagrees
Google Play Services is a framework which other apps use. That battery usage is just imprecisely categorized usage of the other apps you have installed. Some of those apps might be Google's, but anything that wakes your phone or uses GPS will end up contributing a bit to that percentage.
