[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4] Skipjacks:
I agree. I hate Google trying to use my phone anytime that I'm not. In addition to shutting off google location and freezing GTalk and Google Now I also always make modifications to the Google Services Framework to really shut down Google's ability to use my phone when it's in my pocket.

The result is that I have almost no wakelocks or alarms caused by the Google Services. And I have battery life coming out the wazoo!

Here's how....

This is a good old fashioned dirty fix, as it breaks some things. So this is not for everyone!!!!

You MUST be rooted for this to work. The ROM you are using shouldn't matter.

GTalk and GNow (and maybe a few other things) will not work after doing this. They are casualties of the dirty fix. But if you're like me and never use GTalk or GNow this will help. I'd bet that contacts sync and calender sync are also broken by this, but I don't use those so I don't know.

I used System Tuner Pro (The older version with the Green Android icon. Not the new one with the Blue guy. Both are available free on Google Play. But the new one doesn't have the option you'll need) to disable some of the start up items in the Google Services Framework.

First I froze GTalk and Gnow (Google Search). And no, you can't just freeze those two apps without touching the GSF. The GSF will still create wakelocks when trying to activate them even if they are not there. So you have to modify the GSF as well.

So go to System Tuner and select "Start Ups".

Then pick the Google Services Framework.

Then uncheck the things on the list below. (Basicall anything with GTalk or Checkin in the title)

gtalkservice.diagnostits.gtalkdiagnostics

gtalkservice.connection autherrordialog

talk.talkprovider

checkin.checinservices$reciever

checkin.checkinservices$triggerreciever

checkein.eventlogservices$receiver

gtalkservice.diagnostics.gtalkdiagnosticsbroadcast reciever

gtalkservice.serviceautostarter

gtalkservices.datamessagereciever

gtalkservice.sendxmppreciever

gtalkservices.packageinstalledreciever

gtalkservice.xmppendpointreciever

checkin.evenlogservice

gtalkservice.service.stalkservice

gtalkservice.pushmessagingregistar

You can freeze the GSF entirely with 1 easy step and that will also kill the wakelocks. But the Play Store becomes another casualty if you do that. Disabling the events above will stop the Google Services wakelocks dead in their tracks, and allow the Play Store to continue working. (Though I haven't tried purchasing a paid app yet) If you want to go that route you can do it but you'd have to unfreeze the GSF everytime you wanted to update an app.

One little quirk with this is that when you turn on wifi or mobile data, the signal bars don't turn colors. They stay gray because you aren't connecting to the google servers anymore. (They normally change color to indicate that you are connected to the Google servers). After a day I stopped noticing they didn't change colors.

I highly recommend making a Nandroid backup before trying any of this. Once you go that, go nuts! You can't hurt too much when messing with the GSF because it will just shut down google elements. Worst case, you can always just reactivate everything, reboot, and it'll all work like it did before you messed with it.

And worst case, if you totally louse up your ROM, just restore the Nandroid and it'll all be back to normal in a flash. (Get it? In a 'flash'...haha I crack myself up)

This should have the same effects on any ROM as the GSF is the same for all ROMs on all devices as long as it's the same version.