I'm still confused what you're trying to accomplish. The way I would look at it is like this:
If it's $16 a switch, how many bulbs is it controlling?
A Sengled bulb that connects to a hub is about $7-15 each depending if you want a basic bulb or a bulb with more features (ie: Color).
https://www.amazon.ca/Sengled-Blueto...s%2C114&sr=8-7
The hub is $40 on its own, but it can connect 64 devices. But if you nab a bundle, you can get it with essentially 2 bulbs free.
https://www.amazon.ca/Sengled-Connec...ps%2C92&sr=8-5
If a switch controls a single bulb, then individual bulbs start to make more sense with a hub vs a $15/20 switch. But a smart switch probably makes more sense than bulbs for a chandelier or track system with more than 3 bulbs.
IMO, what you could do, is get enough Sengled bulbs and a hub for a few rooms in your house. Get used to tinkering around with the devices, schedules, pros and cons etc. If you end up going all out on a specific standard later on, the small group of Sengled devices could easily be relegated into other things like lamps, or sold/gifted to someone. Bulbs plus hub isn't too much commitment to remove/upgrade. Replacing switches takes much longer and is a bit more annoying to do IMO.