Check in preferences. You may be able to override this.
Google seems to be trying to monetize their browser, so they collect all manner of information. But the browser does work pretty well, by most reports.
You can have any number of browsers, and do not have to uninstall one to have another. In each browser's preferences, uncheck the box about checking for or being the default browser, so they won't fight for dominance.
Firefox works pretty well, and is what I usually use. There is no risk to trying it. Firefox is not really a newsreader, and so will not replace Outlook Express, which has many problems.
But there are many newsreaders, so you ought to be able to find one that you like. The best approach is to try a few of them, as there is not one best newsreader. While you can have multiple newsreaders, some may conflict if downloading news simultaneously, so make downloading manually triggered until you settle on one.
The big thing to look for in newsreaders and email clients is how well filtering works, so you can automatically ignore most spam and scams, and bozos.
Joe Gwinn