Honestly, that’s just way too big a question to have an answer. There’s no one “best“ other than “meet your local safety code.“ Different people have different needs, different aesthetics, different preferences. Some people rank voice control very high on their desired features, other people want everything to be set up to happen automatically without using voice. A Home that has only one person in it Will probably prioritize things very differently than a home with many people in it.
As far as the protocols to use, that varies also. Some people only use zigbee, some don’t use any zigbee, many people use some zigbee and some Z wave and some Wi-Fi depending on the specific features needed for any one use case. Budgets also make a big difference.
So I think you need to get more specific about what you particularly are interested in accomplishing. 
As far as individual device recommendations, take a look at the FAQ:
Bulbs, switches and sensors, oh my....what to buy (device class features FAQ)