After fooling around with cages and straps for 4 months I went clipless two years ago and have never looked back. INHO they are much SAFER than rat traps. I had a number of occassions where i fell of because i couldnt get my foot out of the cages in time. The problem with cages is that to make them tight enough to be useful to spin, you can't get out in a hurry. On the other hand, if they are loose enough to provide a safe exit, they are vitually wortheless for spinning. If you don't care about spinning and are just mashing anyways, you dont need any form of foot retention system.
I use SPDs with a road shoe. I like them because you can tension them to adjust how much force you must apply to unclip. Also, most people who dont use them dont realize that because you unclip by turning your ankle, if you start to tip over, you will more than likely unclip just from gravity. Sure, I fell once or twice when i first got them, but it doesnt take very long before clipping and unclipping become second nature and you dont even think about it.
I would not tell anyone to get cages and straps.