Yeah, it's a bit of a mess. Jeff Geerling did a good two-part write up where he went through a lot of experimentation with different brands, which I've still got in an open tab somewhere.
The Node-Red / Home Assistant (hassio) stuff I need to really dive into in anger at some point. So far my 'smart' stuff is some google gear + Philips Hue (lighting), and these little ESP microcontrollers.
When looking at what vendor to adopt, I've been checking what has the best support by the hassio community - on the assumption they've been down this path already.
The Node-Red / Home Assistant (hassio) stuff I need to really dive into in anger at some point. So far my 'smart' stuff is some google gear + Philips Hue (lighting), and these little ESP microcontrollers.
When looking at what vendor to adopt, I've been checking what has the best support by the hassio community - on the assumption they've been down this path already.