For me it’s not wanting another hub.. And being able to use these devices to strengthen my mesh.. But there are so many viewpoints and different ways to do it.. The great thing is HE supports it all..
He sounds new to hone automation. Trying to explain to his wife that he needs to buy a $100 bridge, then these switches that, oh by the way also need time to work properly. Man, I would not want to be on that receiving end.
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It’s a bridge, not a hub and he plans to buy it anyway, regardless
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One of the biggest pluses for Lutron is the Pico's, the ability to add many 15 function button controllers for $15 each (or occasionally less) in unbeatable. On top of the reliability previously mentioned.
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A rose by any other name would smell as sweet .....
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I genuinely curious what the outcome will be
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That rose can’t do anything except connect Lutron devices to each other, connect them to IP, group, and create very basic scenes. It’s a bridge! 
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That bridge has some third party integrations now - like local control of Sonos using Pico remotes.
It's trying to evolve .....
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Since you're new to home automation, you're going to spend some time figuring out what your wife and house guests can and will tolerate, or will actually use. I bet most people have a random drawer or miscellaneous devices because of a bright idea that either didn't work well, or wasn't that useful.
I'll mention that many of my early ideas for home automation sounded like yours. While everyone's use case is different, I found the sweet spot to be some combination of prioritizing the automation of everything that can be done seamlessly, providing physical controls for everything that may be used in a way that can't be reliably automated (light switches), and leaving well enough alone. While it sounds fun to control a lock via light switch, is it really practical if you or your wife end up physically checking that the door is locked anyways?
My vote is Caseta. Zero mesh issues to worry about. Plus, Lutron is easily the most established player in this field and most likely to still be relevant (and in your walls) in five years. Any additional "features" of other switches sound cool, but maybe install one and see if you actually find its features useful beyond just telling people that you can unlock your door with a light switch.
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True, but it lacks the brains to do much more. Hue is the closest bridge that I could get behind calling a hub.
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This is so true. Very good advice. And by the way, put in a Pico and it will act just like a light switch that can also do anything else you program it to do because it’s actually a full featured button controller.
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Further to this, if you had to or want to upgrade your HE hub in the future, with Lutron you just backup your hub database, restore to the new hub and you are good to go. With Z-Wave switches all over your home, you have to exclude each one, join each one to the new hub, working your way outward from the hub, repair the mesh, then fix every single rule that the switches were part of because they will all be broken.
Plus, your back will be sore because your wife made you sleep in the dog house! 
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Excellent point, I hadn't thought about that and you are right. Hubitat not having a decent way to transfer hub to hub zwave devices was the main reason I haven't done any expanding on zwave devices on this platform like I was with others.
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Smarthomeprimer wrote:
"Further to this, if you had to or want to upgrade your HE hub in the future, with Lutron you just backup your hub database, restore to the new hub and you are good to go. With Z-Wave switches all over your home, you have to exclude each one, join each one to the new hub, working your way outward from the hub, repair the mesh, then fix every single rule that the switches were part of because they will all be broken."
Wait a minute - this sounds terrifying. This in itself is enough for me to avoid Z-Wave based items. I had planned on going zwave (vs. Zigbee) to avoid bandwidth competition with my 2.4ghz wireless, but there is NO WAY I want to be going around doing what you described when the next version of a hub comes out!!
That in itself is enough to go Lutron, if it's true.
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I find that Zigbee sensors are much faster responding than their Z-Wave counterparts. So, I have Zigbee motion, leak, and contact sensors throughout the house in addition to Lutron lighting. This has been a very stable and fast performing setup. I have multiple WiFi access points, as well as multiple Zigbee mesh networks, and have not noticed any interference issues. I do make sure to choose my WiFi channels and Zigbee channels using best practices to avoid issues.
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Don’t worry about the WiFi Zigbee conflict. The protocol is made to handle that scenario. That whole thing is way overblown. Repeaters are the most important thing to have in place with either Z-wave or Zigbee. Lutron works differently and unless you have a very large property (or exceed 75 Lutron devices) you won’t need a repeater or second bridge.
Z-wave has some unique devices not available in other radio types, so for those (with my front door lock being the exception) I use Z-Wave. For everything else I use Zigbee, Lutron and Insteon. Insteon is historic, but I do like them a lot. Much of my Zigbee is actually on Hue and a Xiaomi Aqara hub. So again, when I want to change hubs, it’s quite easy. Only 4 Z-Wave devices to rejoin and a handful of rules to fix. A few Zigbee devices would have to be re-paired, but they just slot themselves right back in place. No need to do any rule repair like with Z-Wave as it currently stands on HE.
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Lutron
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It isn't terrifying. Most people here have come from other platforms and have had to go through it. I moved from another platform and while I spent a couple of days slowly moving my Zwave things, I spent months learning the differences in how things operated with the new hub. I have been through several hubs and each time I managed the transition in a few days. The biggest issue with transition is learning how to do the same automation routines on the new platform.
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This is probably the biggest benefit of Caseta. You can effectively add additional light switches or modify existing three-way switches without having to change or add any wiring or put big holes in drywall. Big side benefit is you aren't stuck controlling one particular light or fixture, and can use the pico remote for other things. E.g. my top of stairs pico (in place of what was a three way switch) controls the light, but a press and hold can arm/disarm the security system.
I have also used this benefit to deal with crowded 1960's electrical boxes. Removed switches so the outlets are always live, and installed pico remotes in their place controlling a few Zigbee bulbs.
@2005, to expand on the above, zigbee channels 15, 20, and 25 are least likely to suffer from WiFi interference. Some zigbee devices don't like channels 25 & 26, so 15 and 20 are the choices most likely to minimize wifi interference.
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