I prefer a thin case because many scratches over time would bother me. Or a small cosmetic dent from a drop.
I don’t do big bulky protective cases anymore though. I used to do OtterBox defender cases and the like. I have Apple care for now incase of a major accident with the phone.
I usually wake up with 82-84% battery in the morning. Today it was 89% after updating last night. Seems like it might have improved things for mine.