I have used guards since I found brush marks on my first CF guitar--I sometimes tap, often brush, and sometimes I get a little enthusiastic.

I don't like thick guards and I don't like obscuring the guitar face. Stu-Mac has a super thin Mylar guard that I've now been using for years on all my guitars. It has an adhesive back and I used to sweat bullets worrying about what would happen if I had to take one off. And then one day I had to take one off because I laid it in wrong; warm washcloth , some gentle pulling, then clean any residual adhesive.

The nice thing about getting a guard in large sheets is that I've been able to shape the guard to suit my play.

There are also cling guards that go on and off with no problem; never tried one.