I also have a windows VM on my laptop. That doesn't make my laptop a windows machine. A from-the-bios-up linux install is a fundamentally different security scheme than having the ability to run linux software in a VM.
That would depend on how much you trust google. I don't trust any vendor enough to lock myself into particular OS. I prefer the ability to ditch one flavor of linux for another on a moment's notice.
If ultimate control of the machine was the top consideration then I agree.
On the other hand, if the goal is to have a small, light, portable, good-on-battery laptop that can run Linux console apps (with the ability to powerwash to firmware if the user suspects malware) then maybe a chromebook would be better
