Welcome Derek,
It appears you have done some research so you likely already know the extremely broad nature of the replies you will receive.
I have not owned or even seen the two models you mentioned. I do have a set of Motorola FRS radios I purchased almost 30 years ago. I don’t remember the model because I have given them to other people but they both still work.
I have owned many different brands of GMRS radios and for my purposes, which are much like your stated use cases, GMRS is worth it. The higher power can help in certain situations and the other features a lot of GMRS radios have that most FRS radios don’t make the GMRS radios work better for me. Some of these features include receiving NOAA weather frequencies, having a wide receive capability so I can listen to other radio services like LEO, fire, and HAM. GMRS radios normally have removable antennas which is good when you are in the middle of nowhere and need a longer, better antenna to help with distance and obstructions.
The radios I carry and use most are Wouxon GMRS radios (KG-935G Plus, KG-S88G, KG-Q10H which is a HAM radio). The models I own now are all IP66 or IP67 rated so are about as weather proof water resistant as you can get. I, or someone using them, have dropped several of my radios sometimes in a spectacular fashion and all are still in perfect operation with only minor scratches. I have owned other brands and models. I gave a set of KG-805G radios to one of my daughters for travelling/emergency comms. I know a couple of people who have and use Baofeng UV9G GMRS radios and they seem to work well.
I live in a mountainous area and can get anywhere from .5 miles to 7.5 miles depending on line of sight because UHF (GMRS/FRS) is very line of sight dependent. I have used my handheld radios in the Mojave dessert and was able to talk between 20 and 30 mile in one instance. That was in a barren landscape with direct line of sight across a vast valley. That is not the norm. Trees and hills/mountains will be your limiting factors or buildings and structures in a more urban setting.
Another good thing about GMRS is you can talk to people that are using FRS radio. As I said, I gave one of my FRS radios to a neighbor so we can communicate during weather events when we have lost cell service.
These days I use rechargeable radios and I have upgraded to radios that have a USB-C port on the battery or radio so I don’t have to have a charger base all of the time.
There are many different brands of GMRS and FRS radios out there. I don’t believe there are any radios made in the US now even though some of the brands are US brands. You can also spend as little as $20 or up to $200+ for a GMRS radio. I have ended somewhere in the middle of that range and have found out you get what you pay for in most cases.
I have a HAM license but my wife of 44 years isn’t interested in that. However, she now has her own pink GMRS radio and uses it under my GMRS license. I am not big on chatting with strangers so I get a lot more use from my GMRS radios theses days.
Good luck and have fun,
Sean