I don't really care about the spam. as you said, I control it myself anyway.
I guess paid relays are in theory could be more reliable, they might be faster I guess(?). But I don't buy the nostr:npub18ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqctp424 comment on paid being superior due to reduction of spam.