This really bothered me too, so much so that I downloaded some unofficial LineageOS source code for the latest version, patched it for signature spoofing to be

This really bothered me too, so much so that I downloaded some unofficial LineageOS source code for the latest version, patched it for signature spoofing to be able to use microG and flashed it to my device. That play protect popup was the last straw. It reminded me that google is indeed watching every step on my android phone.