The question is how far can they lower it while still claiming to have still provided the 'always free' - I mean can they reduce my nice free VM to 32k of ram and a 1/1000 of a core and a byte of bandwidth/month?

"Always Free" should probably be interpreted in the context of a recurring monthly contract: "of all the resources you use these will always be included at no additional charge"

The same applies to "Free for Life" offers: "free until it no longer makes commercial sense"

Low expectations are key. I've been using my full quota of free resources for 3+ years without an issue and I'm grateful for having a place to run various non-commercial services. I also know enough to understand that this is not the full Oracle Experience and that I shouldn't give them any money.

I'll take 32KB, a 6502 core, and 2400 baud of bandwidth.