Are gutter guards worth it?

I don't mind cleaning out gutters, except my house is a 2-story and I get a bit nervous standing/sitting on the edge of the roof.
I've done it again yesterday with a leaf blower. Enough leaves & pollen to fill 3 - 5 gallon buckets.

My neighbor has a huge live oak tree, and my gutters get clogged up with oak leaves.

I'm thinking of buying and installing gutter guards from Home Depot, but I'm always seeing complaints that they end up getting clogged themselves and making the gutter system useless.

Any tips on making the gutters easier and safer to clean?

Several years ago I put some about half way down one side of the house, under a Bradford Pear. They definitely reduced the amount of leaves. Problem was, only doing half the gutter made for a perfect squirrel house. I discovered some drainage issues during a storm, went up the next day, popped the cover off, and adopted two baby squirrels. Took me an hour to clean out the sticks, trash, and oven mitt (!) Momma had used to make the nest.

Only had that problem once, and fortunately the Bradford did what Bradford's do, and I was able to get rid of it a few years later. But they worked well enough for the time I had them.

I put gutter screens on mine. They still clogged up. They finally rusted and I took them down.

I have the screens and those little pods off the oak trees that release the pollen still get in there and clog the gutters. I'm about to rip all the gutters off if's so aggravating.

I've tried them a couple times...they seem help some but in the long run seem to be more trouble than they're worth....

Okay, thanks for the responses.
Seems the pods of pollen will clog up the guards no matter what. On top of that, I have a tree that gives these long narrow leaves, which for sure will also clog up the guards.

I think I'll forget about the gutter guards, and buy this leaf blower attachment instead.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Toro-Gutter-Cleaning-Kit-for-Blower-Vacs-51667/300121857

Wear yard work clothes, a raincoat, and safety glasses (or full face shield) when using it....ask me how I know....

Blowing them out seems to be the best option for us too.....

Mind are aluminum, still needs some cleaning, but not near as much as before.