I don't think anything stops a direct lightning hit. Certainly not $50 consumer surge protectors plugged into the wall.

I have a 100,000 amp whole-home surge protector (Siemens FS100) installed at the breaker box, but that won't stop a lightning strike either.

But it will EASILY handle typical non-lightning surges. Whether or not the consumer plug-in surge protectors are good enough depends on how spikey your supply might be.