for some reason I just don't trust it lol does it do anything with my info? does it cost me money? does it keep stats accurately?
I would guess Google do use your stats. But it doesnt cost any money, and is reasonably accurate as it just counts proper visitors not spiders and bots etc.
I prefer statcounter.com It provide better stat, but free accounts have limit of 500 logs. You can see latest 500 log stats in free accounts.
Google analytics is the best way to check your site's stats. It certainly help you in tracking the traffics, visitors, conversions and much more.
I use statcounter in tracking my visitors but I use Google's webmaster tools when I want to track my top keywords and pages so I can improve on that.
I think it is best to use for your site stats. It is free also. It gives accurate results surly. You can use and get information about your sites how visitors treats to your sites.
I prefer statcounter. The 500 limit is good enough until you reach a size that requires a bigger log. Then only you try something else or pay a small amount for a bigger log.