Google Voice doesn’t fit in the traditional mold of SMS. Its messages exclusively use its own app (or the browser) and doesn’t get classified as SMS in phones as they don’t use SIM cards.
What I was really getting at is that it’d be harder for me to leave since I’m dependent on Google for a major service, arguably one that’s almost as important as email…
SMS Backup & Restore app works great
That’s not what I meant:
You can install Voice. I installed it on a separate profile dedicated to that. I turn it off when I don’t use it.