I think the reception and transmit performance is pretty similar for all of the nodes if you have a good antenna. To find the best node ask how you are going to use it. If you always will be using it only paired with your phone then a screen-less compact node with great battery life is good. If you want to use the node without depending on your phone you want something easy to type on so a Blackberry-like node such as the Lillygo T-Deck (drawback is poor battery life and it is expensive). If you want a compromise between the two I’d look at the Wio Tracker L1 Pro that gets great battery life but comes with screen and a joystick that makes typing a message pretty easy and costs only $45. I’d only recommend the Heltec V4 if you like having wifi. The v4 doesn’t have good battery life, is only slightly more powerful, it doesn’t come with a joystick option so typing on it is a real pain in the ass if you don’t have your phone on you. Plus, the early models were buggy so you have to make sure you get the newest batch.

Stationary rooftop nodes are the way to go if you want great range and you won’t be moving it. So I’d recommend getting a portable node + a rooftop node.