I also started with/am still using a hue hub. It integrates nicely with homeassistant, but I already know that if I want to expand my smarthome into other signee devices, I will have to spend more $$ on a second zigbee antenna, and I will have to move my hue lights over to that if I want the network to mesh together.

I don’t regret anything about it though. The hue hub has been rock solid and super responsive for me, and every review I’ve seen seems to conclude that hue lights are pretty much the best if you want color accuracy, smooth transitioning/dimming, and responsiveness. I will probably lean more on smart switches in the future, but starting with smart bulbs is good for now while we wait to see the Matter/thread devices roll out.