In my experience, if you spend a lot of time or dirt roads at higher speeds, you will also need rubber boots to protect the shock shafts from pitting from rocks thrown up from the front wheels.

I have some guards from another company that I don't like as they only attach by the lower shock bolt so they get canted easily. I like that these wrap around the shock mount. I have bent my guards, but not so much that they impacted the shock shaft or the shock body on full compression. While I can see that possibility, I don't think a naked shock is going to survive the same situation without also being severely damaged.

What I would really like to see is some protection for the lower shock bolt itself. Every time I have to remove my rear shocks I have to air hammer that bolt back into a hex(ish) shape in order to remove it, and of course replace it every time. Either a ramped washer around it or an allen or torx panhead bolt would do it.

On the bending topic, you could easily eliminate that possibility by adding a small gusset to this design.