[jakeru]

My local Firestone offered a "lifetime alignment" which applies to the vehicle as long as you keep owning it. Could be a good option for you to consider if you potentially see multiple suspension service jobs in your future.

I would stay away from any bargain brand (you can find on eBay, but also I seem to recall ECS sells one called "Hamburg technic", so specifically beware of that) on any rubber suspension components, (especially when you aren't sure that there's anything wrong with your current part - in which case your preventive maintenance could easily backfire and cause more problems than doing nothing).

IME with other bargain rubber parts (like aftermarket engine mounts purchased for other cars), they can look fine when you first get them, but self-destruct very shortly after installation.

I still personally believe your steering inconsistency could be caused by just a worn out trailing arm spherical bearing. My front bump stops on my '01 base with 110k were also obliterated before I did suspension service. If your suspension bottoms out frequently (mine did), replacing them will help improve that. Best to do bump stops at the same time as replacing the struts, though.

Trailing arms repair or replacement could easily be done as a standalone project. When you get to replacing struts, you have a much, much larger scope of project on your hands. Hope this helps and best of luck!