They are definitely better than other companies, but if they truly cared about privacy, they would let us download apps without signing up for an Apple ID. Or at the very least, not require a full name and physical address for one.
Ironically (is that the correct usage?) this actually makes it appealing to me.
Whenever I take a laptop in to be serviced, I always remove the hard drive and replace it with an old one that has a new Linux or Windows install on it.
This is mainly for privacy reasons.
When I got my MBP, I knew you couldn't do that, so I basically used it as a thin client, storing all my data elsewhere. However, I was still uncomfortable when I did need to turn it in for servicing, that I spent extra time and formatted it beforehand.
And yes, I encrypt all the drives, but I've heard of instances where the tech will ask for passwords.