Picking (a) Voice Assistant(s) and other early commitments.

I'm wanting to bail off down the smart home path. I'm not an IT professional, but I'm an engineer and can figure most things out with a youtube/forum binge. ha!

I'm stressing over the best voice assistant and also wondering if committing to one even matters for me. Also just generally want to buy things that will all work together without hiring a programmer to integrate them.

Here's my situation:

Current Smart/tech devices:

  • I have an android. My wife has an iphone. Engineer married artist. Aren't we cute?
  • We have about $500 worth of Sonos speakers including an Era 100 (currently only Alexa compatible). The other two Sonos speakers are a few years old and not voice enabled.
  • Two Ecobee thermostats.
  • A wifi controlled mini split (Cooper & Hunter)
  • The kids are getting Kindle Fires for Christmas
  • We plan to get a Samsung frame TV. (Don't argue. Wife is an artist, I want the TV over the fireplace for more seating. This is THE ONLY WAY.) (Side note: Opposites attract. Negotiation saves marriages.)

Areas of interest:

  • I like the look of Hubitat. I think it matches the level of techiness I'm up for.
  • I'm comfortable with residential electrical work. I've considered smart relays over smart switches for both affordability and to maintain my wife's preference for a traditional aesthetic (Me "Damn, that looks cool!" Her "That just looks so modern and cold.")
  • My fixer upper has a tragically undersized HVAC unit on one side. I plan to add a couple mini splits to help it out. Getting those smart integrated would be nice.
  • We love music. I'd love wifi speakers EVERYWHERE. We went with Sonos early, but we're not made of money. If I could get more affordable speakers in my smart home
  • Smart doorbells and cameras are likely in our future.
  • I'm very interested in smart shades/blinds. Our fixer-upper needs blinds, so I think I'll go smart.
  • I'd like a few voice assistant-type devices lying around. I think it would help us disconnect from our phones.

So for all this...Any input on 1) The platforms that would be best for my situation. 2) How much does commitment to a voice assistant matter? If I go hubitat, can I just integrate both? Or does it double my work?