Cat Replacement Questions

Like seemingly everyone else who owns one of these lovely vehicles I find myself suddenly in the market for a new catalytic converter. I have done plenty of research here and elsewhere but had some things I thought would be best to ask directly:

1. I notice near universal recommendation here to get aftermarket replacement rather than OEM, and (ignore my name and unupdated profile) don't reside somewhere this is mandatory. However I read this article that suggested the OEM cat was still better at doing its job than aftermarket. Not sure if the points they raise are valid or not so would appreciate thoughts on that.

2. Noticed someone (I believe @Georgina Rudkus) mention spray painting the replacement part orange as a deterrent to theft but didn't see enough discussion to determine whether this could be considered a reliable countermeasure on its own or not. My gut is no of course but thought I should ask directly.

3. Assuming I do end up getting a guard, I am correct in thinking that Cat Security should be disregarded and any decision to be made is between MillerCAT and Auto Defender? This is the sense I got but no one said so explicitly and want to be absolutely sure I am right about this.

4. If the bolts were unscrewed rather than cut can I know for sure there is no damage to other systems or should I just let the muffler shop determine that?

I know there are a ton of threads about this so I made sure I did not start one until I really had reason to. Hopefully this proves useful for others as well as myself.

 

Ended up biasing towards getting the car back online as quickly as possible so went with the aftermarket converter (Walker 16377) the muffler shop had in stock. Would have preferred OEM or MagnaFlow I guess but got the sense that Walker was not actively bad so waiting did not feel optimal. Car seems to drive fine but will obviously pay attention to MPG and the like and report anything.

Regarding preventing future thefts, I noticed immediately I could not feel comfortable without knowing there was a physical barrier (because thinking from perspective of thief it is so easy to take them that they might as well even if they can't visually confirm right away that it is valuable), so went with MillerCAT because that is what Toyota dealer had in stock. I quite liked the idea of just spray painting it orange though.

Thank you again to everyone who posted in all the different threads I read and helped me navigate this obnoxious hassle with some measure of confidence.