I wouldn't say it's less free if the people storing value there are compensated for inflation. But... Let's say they aren't. If people aren't paying fees by storing value long term (these are the only people likely to care about inflation), and the inflation is known and everyone must play by the same rules, I don't see how it isn't free. Unless people are forced to use the thing. Meaning there's some gun forcing everyone to use it, like fiat. And if the mechanism is the same, it's philosophically the same as zero inflation. The majority in Bitcoin agree on zero. The majority in whatever agree on whatever inflation. It's the same amount of freedom.