Personally I love lever drags. So quick & simple to adjust the drag on the fly. All you need to remember with lever drags is not to adjust the pre-load when the lever is engaged. Pre-load adjustment should only be done with the reel out of gear, or it can crush the bearings, which is probably why some people don't rate LD's or think they're fragile. They're not - it's usually user error that causes problems. Avet reels are my favourite, but there are of course other brands available.
For balance, I also use star drags and would have no problem using them for tope either. I rate the Penn Fathoms so if you already have some of these I'd say you probably don't need a LD, but take a look at the Avets and you may decide you want one 😉