after a pretty bad deer struck accident out of state this month, I'm thinking of adding a cattle guard to the front of the Tacoma. My question is do they really work or are they mostly for show? Are there certain brands that are better than others? Is it better to weld them to the frame or just bolt them on the way they come?

They say everything happens for a reason.
For me that reason is usually because I've made some bad decisions that I need to pay for.