No, I'm explicitly stating that it doesn't. The LineageOS security patch level is explicitly dishonest. They set it to the latest value across devices even when shipping only shipping a fraction of the security fixes required by the latest patch level. AOSP patches aren't enough.
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Non-Pixel devices also don't have comparable security at a firmware and hardware level. It can't be addressed with another OS. Also, only Pixels (and the Nexus 5X / 6P before them) support all the hardware security features like verified boot with alternate operating systems.
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You should be avoiding Android as a whole if you think they deliberately put in backdoors, because backdoors can be hidden in open source code as bugs. The same applies to other software where Google plays a substantial role including the Linux kernel and many other projects.
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It's worth keeping in mind that desktops and laptops have similar issues. They have huge numbers of components, many with their own complex firmware like HDDs/SSDs, Wi-Fi, etc. It's even rarer to have proper firmware updates on those than phones.
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AOSP offers much better privacy and security than a traditional operating system without a strong security model and strong exploit mitigations too. LineageOS hinders some of that, but most is still intact. Most devices not having full security updates is a huge issue though.
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There are a few Android phones other than Pixels receiving proper security updates and with decent software / hardware security features, but they aren't quite on the same level and usually don't have reliable support for even 3 years so I can't recommend that people use those.
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Only Pixels support all the hardware-based security features for alternate operating systems, which is a big deal, although unfortunately there are no longer releases of any alternative OSes with all of the standard security features enabled and fully intact, let alone improved.
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The best option for most people is buying an iPhone, since they'll get 5-6 years of security updates and a more privacy-friendly OS than the standard one on a Pixel. I think it's unfortunate that there's so little interest in making serious alternatives with comparable security.