The only thing I can think of it to just use an unstable Debian Netinstall,
and refusing suggestions for drivers during the install I suppose (just in
case they're non-free).
Less work, less headaches, faster and more reliable results.
It's not 100% free software, but it can be used that way (using the free repo
only, and I guess not blindly accepting blobs/firmwares/drivers. And it has
reliable browser security updates, which is probably why I'm reluctantly
going to switch to Debian.
You can still tweak it the way you want, and still give it a name. I mean
it's probably possible to have a small script to install your favorite
software, and some personal files like icons, wallpapers, etc.
