Think layers. A suppressor at the meter or the main panel and a suppressor strip is good. The large carbon bead unit rides in the panel where it takes the head off any large surges. The surge strips handle what it doesn't catch.

None of them work worth a damn if the ground path isn't solid. It doesn't matter how good a toilet flushes if the drain line is clogged. A good ground system makes sure there is somewhere for the excess energy drained off to go to.

Living in Florida and working with electronics I have noticed that while electronics do burn out with time the ones that are well protected last longer.

Surge strips should be marked with the month and year so you know how long they have been in place. It is really easy to plug one in and then forget about it for a decade. They need to be replaced regularly. How often you replace them depends on how tough they are, how many and how large the spikes they absorb are, and how expensive the gear they are protecting is.

I set up a hierarchy. My expensive gear gets high quality units and they gets replaced every two years. Less expensive electronics clusters get a cheaper units. Once the they have done their time the strips get used to protect ever less expensive devices. Over the years the household now has over a dozen units and there is at pretty much one on every circuit. Several two or more.

I have replaced the MOVs and other expendable parts in a couple of units but the suppressor strips are so cheap that it is more efficient to just buy new ones.