I haven't seen 20+ mpg in the last 4 jeeps I've owned and my Mojave gets 15mpg for everyday driving and about 11 when I'm towing that's with 35x12.5x17 and an aggressive tread
I'm not so sue about this I have spent many years go to the Smokey Mt jeep festival and have seen I'm far share of black bears ripping into soft tops because they left their food in them , now that being sad most of that is from conditioned bears that know cars and people equal food.
I've tried several and the best one I've found is the Mopar one fits tight and doesn't leak fyi if you buy an adjustable center pole it will never pool water.
Very well written post mine are all grandkids now and they love the jeep life the first thing they want to do when we pick them up is strip the truck and vacations have never been this fun whether it's camping, offloading or or just trails for the day they love it. Best of luck and don't worry...