I plugged a few of those pulley cover designs into the quote generator and was disappointed with the pricing. They wanted around triple what I'd hoped to pay and I lost interest. The big ugly molded factory guard has got me thinking about it again, though, and I think I'll experiment with...
I've never worried much about stressing them with topping, but I don't top autos anymore. They handle it fine, but I seem to get bigger flowers when I don't top.
I've stockpiled way too much flower, so I've been on hiatus for a while. But here's a photo I found of a Purple Kush plant I grew outdoors a couple seasons ago.