You make some very good points about actually making your home more secure through better doors, locks, motion-activated lights, and other means. Most people overlook those things and just hope a security system alone will do the job.

I've been sent out on a job before to install magnetic locks on the doors of an apartment building. The first thing I did after looking around at the situation was to tell them they needed better doors first. The existing doors were little tougher than cardboard and I was there to install magnetic locks with a holding strength of 10,000 pounds. One kick would have separated the lock mechanism from the door entirely.

Security is definitely not a one-size-fits-all deal. You have to look at the broader picture.