Other services are also free and don't tend to personalize their ads.

You perfectly got it. Thanks. 

Speaking form outside of the U.S.

Google is the one who delivers the best results in search, Bing delivers quite useless content when searching for things outside the U.S. The same is true for the other products from Google.

To me, if you live outside the U.S. the best deal (by far!) is Google. Alternatives only care for the U.S. Rather limiting in my point of view, but hey, what do I know right? Not to be trolling or something, but in that sense Google is more of a global player than any of the alternatives (including Microsoft).

Furthermore I can confirm that MS and other alternatives handle anything outside of the U.S.  I have (very sparingly used) mail accounts with Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft (since Hotmail)...and guess which account is getting the least (directed) spam. Again, privacy is not a word in the vocabulary of Microsoft or Yahoo!

Ok, a bit of explicit NSFW language follows: For me it is hard to understand that somebody complains about what Google might do regarding privacy, while the alternatives already sell us non-US'ers out

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

, in essence, fornicate non-US'ers from behind using sand as vaseline

while not even trying to keep up with what Google actually delivers. Because of that Google has a tremendous amount of goodwill all over the globe and (generally speaking) people are not that bothered with the advertisements that Google fires in their direction.

Let me put it this way, why people call searching on the internet 'googling' and not 'binging'? The latter term does not bring such a nice association to my mind...but again, what do I know?[/rant]

One thing that does reassure me about Google's fair actions is that they have yet to abuse the privacy of their users to date. Being a search company, its spiders are logging and instantly linking everything, including the content of your emails. Never had a problem with their apps, viz., email. But if they do start horning in on my hermetic life, then I'll act.

I'm far more worried about government action/inaction on issues of DNA databases, copyright, and patents, where tech faces increasing danger of being criminalized.

Plaintext emails are like postcards, you didn't bother to put it in an envelope so the postman is perfectly entitled to read it

So emails are "just such a virtual thing" and in no way comparable to actual letters to you?

For me, yes. About the only thing of importance I receive via email is an occasional Amazon receipt or shipping notice. No company business is done through it, although I know of several people using Google's premium business accounts to administer their email.