🤷
Doesn't hurt to have the mounts, I'm not into guards on my off-road bikes though, so, unbothered personally. Would rather have the clearance, either for extra tyre or the inevitable claggy peanut butt-er fuckmounds.
A Win-Wing keeps the buttonhole clean enough in the winter.
They are grey out of the box. I would generally Vanish PowerGel spot clean them and then soak the suckers in a bucket of hot soapy water to get that good grey grey back. The Powerweave is pretty hardy.
We stop for peds, not for reds.